Into the Lion's Den
by Lissanrose
Summary: Edward left Bella and went to Volterra after thinking she was dead. Bella rushed to save him, but her feelings for him have changed.She is stronger and decidedly tired of Edward's possessive nature.She finds love in the most unlikely of places. Dont like pairing, dont read!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**This is my very first twilight fic and I just thought I would see how it went before I decided to continue this. Honestly I like the pairings for Bella/Aro and Bella/Marcus. Please R&R.**

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Chapter 1

Edward went to the Volturi to kill himself? Why would he do that? In all honesty I believed that he was being a little selfish about this whole mess and I had half a mind not to go with Alice to save him. Sure I loved Edward with my whole heart, but he never cared how broken I had been since he left, so why should I care now?

However, I just couldn't let him die thinking that I was dead. It wasn't for him, but his family that I agreed to go with Alice to Volterra. I also couldn't forgive myself if he died and his family would ultimately blame me for that. Sure most of them would probably understand my actions but Rosalie would resent me even more than she already does. So now here I was racing to Volterra to stop my ex-boyfriend/vampire from committing suicide. Alice's visions said that the Volturi had refused him and I wondered what he would do now. Thank heaven for small mercies I guess, since that did buy us more time to get there. I just hoped that we weren't too late to stop him from doing something foolish. We were fortunate but we just barely made it before he could do something stupid. Before we could leave, we were summoned to the throne room by the Volturi guard at their rulers request.

So now here I stood in the throne room of the Volturi with Edward very much alive. He clung to me but in all honesty I no longer had the same feelings for him as I did before. He was somewhat selfish when it came down to it and I didn't like that about him. Deep down I did still have love for him, but he had lost my trust. I was actually disgusted with myself that I had been through so much pain after his departure and making myself sick over someone who didn't respect my wishes. There was only one thing that was good about their defection and that was that I, Bella Swan, decided to grow a backbone and stand up for myself.

"Ah, Bella is alive after all." The dark haired man spoke and I assumed that was Aro from the description that Edward had given me so long ago in Carlisle's office. "You see, are you not glad that we did not agree to your demise as you requested?" Aro said with a weird smirk that seemed to say 'I told you so'.

"Yes Aro I am. Now can we get this over with so that we can take Bella back home?" Edward almost growled and I wondered why he was so defensive right now when five minutes ago he was calm and respectful. Aro and the other two rulers that were seated on the dais looked over to me and the dark haired one locked his eyes on mine. I didn't know what it was exactly but there was a strange pull there I didn't understand. He must have felt it too because he stood and walked down from the dais to where Aro was standing and held his hand out to his brother. Aro's face showed shock and I assumed that didn't happen very often. Edward growled again and tightened his grip on me. His grip got impossibly tighter and my ribs started to hurt from the pressure and I flinched a little. Alice must have noticed because she put a calming hand on her brother and the pressure reduced. Instinctually I stepped out of his embrace, creating a little distance between myself and Edward, but not getting closer to the Volturi rulers either. Pain streaked across Edward's face and surprisingly I felt no remorse or guilt at his reaction. He looked hurt but the look on Alice's face told me that she understood my actions. Was I that easy to read or was there something in her visions that she had yet to reveal?

"Well Edward and Alice are free to leave at any time. However I wish to speak with Isabella for just a moment if you don't mind?" Aro inquired and I nodded just as Edward refused. He looked over in shock and I glared at him.

"No Bella I won't leave you to speak alone. You are my life Bella and I won't let you do something to get yourself hurt." He said in almost a growl. I was his life? Then why in the hell did he leave me stranded away from those I loved and respected the most. I for one was getting sick of his game.

"Edward this is my decision and not yours. Let's not forget that the only reason I am here in the first place is to save your scrawny ass. I did what I did for your family and so that you wouldn't do anything stupid. You owe me this much so shut up already." I ranted and the room was filled with a mixture of amusement, surprise and shock. The three rulers at the front of the room were watching in anticipation but the one I now recognized as Marcus was now showing concern but pride at standing up for myself. Edward wore a mixture of pain and anger on his face and I continued to glare at him before stepping forward towards Aro. Edward lunged forward and stood directly between myself and Aro. I glared even harder at him and I lost it.

"What the hell Edward, so now you're protecting me? Where were you and your family when you all ran from Forks and me without so much as a 'hi', 'bye', or a 'kiss my ass'? Again this is my decision not yours so back the hell off Edward." I practically growled at him and he stepped back in surprise at my words. I saw hurt in his eyes but I couldn't care less at the moment and honestly his protectiveness was getting on my nerves. "You lost your claim to decide things in my life when you all packed up and left. That wasn't my decision it was yours and I'm through with letting others make my decisions for me." I walked towards Aro again I was surprised beyond belief when he lunged again, but this time it was towards me. He grabbed my arm and ran towards the doors, dragging me behind him, only to be stopped by the guard members who dropped into a defensive crouch. He tightened his grip even further on my arm and the pain was almost unbearable. A split second he was down on the floor writhing in pain as I tried to stand. I went to push myself up but my arm was broken and I fell back towards the floor crying in pain. I finally managed to stand with great effort and two of the guard held Edward for the time being.

"Isabella my dear are you alright?" Aro asked and I saw true concern in his features.

"Fine." I growled towards Edward. "Alice may remain here if you don't mind but I prefer that Edward be kept away from me at the moment. He may stay in the room if you wish but please keep him on a leash." I said while the other vampires in the room laughed lightly. Edward growled louder and I whirled around towards him. "Could you please just shut the hell up for God's sake. I'm trying to finish this so I don't have to look at you anymore." I yelled and he was finally resigned to be quiet. I walked towards Aro and FINALLY reached him. He looked at me and smiled slightly.

"Isabella, would you care to let me see if my gift works on you since Edward's does not?" He asked and I nodded and reached my hand out, the one that wasn't broken. Confusion flashed across his features and he released my hand. "I see nothing." He stated sadly. "No matter, I wanted to ask what you feel when you look at the three of us?" He motioned towards himself and the other two rulers. I studied each of them carefully until I reached Marcus and I felt the pull that I did before but it was slightly stronger now. There was an emotion that crossed his feature that I couldn't recognize immediately but I finally recognized it. There was nervousness and hope written on his face and I had to fight myself to stay where I stood.

"I don't feel anything in particular, but there is a strong pull towards Lord Marcus when I look at him." I stated and I caught a glimpse of Marcus as his eyes lit up briefly.

"Amazing." He stated in wonder. "It appears that there is a mating bond between you two." He mused. I should have been shocked but I was surprisingly calm. "Does this not bother you my dear?"

"Not at all really. I wonder if this is what Alice saw in her latest vision." I mused aloud and turned to Alice who nodded. "Alice, I know that you want me to be happy with Edward but I can't be that person anymore. I have love for him, I do, but he broke my trust and I don't think I could stand that kind of pain again." I said and I saw Edward's face fell. Surprisingly Alice smiled.

"I know Bella and I'm sorry we left like that. Edward convinced us all that it was best for all involved in order to keep you safe." She said and I nodded.

"So what happens now?" I asked turning back to Aro.

"Well you can chose to return home with them and get your affairs in order, or you can stay here." He said simply. I signed in indecision.

"While I would like to stay here, I need to see that things at home are taken care of. I am also almost finished with school and would like to continue there if possible. I would return of course after my affairs are taken care of." Marcus' face fell slightly and I felt sorry for him at the moment. I walked up towards him and for some reason felt that I needed to touch him. I heard Edward growl again and I shot him a quick glare. I knelt in front of him and looked into his pained eyes. I had to settle things at home but I couldn't stay away from him for that long. I turned to Aro.

"Lord Aro, would there be the possibility of finishing my schooling here? There are things that I must attend to at home, but being schooled here would definitely shorten the duration of my stay down to merely a few days." I said and Aro smiled at me and Marcus expression brightened a little.

"Of course my dear, we will arrange it while you are tending to matters at home." Aro said and I nodded. "Felix will accompany you and make sure that you get back to us safely." I nod while I noticed Edward glaring holes in the floor. I turned back toward Marcus and smiled.

"I will be back soon." I told him with conviction and he smiled slightly and reached for my hand kissing it lightly.

"Return to me swiftly mi cara." He said and I nodded. I turned towards the others in the room and sighed.

"Damn." I said.

"What is it my dear?" Aro asked.

"Nothing important really, I just realized I'll have to share a plane with him." I said pointing towards Edward. There was a deafening silence before the room burst into laughter and I vaguely caught the sound of Edward growling. I sighed again once the laughter died down. "Let's just get this over with shall we?" I said and Alice nodded along with Felix.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) own nothing.**

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Chapter 2

Marcus POV

I was sitting in the throne room with my brothers and silently wallowing in my despair as I had for an uncounted number of centuries. I still mourned the loss of my mate and muddling through the day-to-day routines as the rulers of the vampire society. My brothers tried to pull me out of the despair I suffered but failed as there was nothing I could see that brightened my life. I looked on day to day as my brothers sought comfort and happiness in their mates and they were smiling in happiness. I couldn't bring myself to feel jealousy towards them, but I did indeed envy them.

We watched as the Cullen boy was denied his request to die because he claimed to have lost his mate. Looking at his bonds revealed that he didn't have a true mating bond so we denied him his desire. Sometime later, Jane came in with the Cullen boy and his gifted sibling Alice. There was also a young human girl with them. When my attention was drawn to the girl, our eyes locked and I didn't need my bond sight to know that we were meant to be. I felt an immediate pull towards the girl and she felt it too. The boy was trying my patience with his rough treatment of her and it took all that was in me to suppress the possessive growls that wanted to leave my throat. I was surprised at this young woman and she was strong in her words. It was admirable that she spoke with confidence toward our kind and her tone didn't hold an ounce of fear. She was outspoken and sarcastic, but compassionate and honest. By the time she was finished it was apparent that she would leave and that saddened me, but she swiftly came to a compromise and shortened the time she would be away. I didn't like it, but I knew this was something that she needed to do. I was grateful that Aro sent Felix with her and I awaited her swift return.

Bella POV

Thankfully the plane ride was rather uneventful though I was extremely glad when the plane landed and we were finally on our way to Forks. I walked into my house telling Felix to use the window once I opened it. He stayed out of sight as I walked through the front door and faced my father. I told him that I was leaving and I assured him that I wasn't leaving with Edward and that reassured him only a little. He didn't like it of course, but there wasn't anything he could do considering that I was now 18 and a legal adult. I packed up the things that I needed from my room and loaded them into the rental car that Felix had aquired once we landed in the states. Felix had to do most of the lifting due to my broken arm but he didn't complain. I wanted to go and see the Cullens once more and Felix assured me that Edward wouldn't be a problem but I was still concerned. I did hate the way I treated Edward but it was honestly no more than he deserved. We pulled up to the Cullen house and I was surprised to see that Edward wasn't there but I was also a little relieved. I explained to them the situation and Alice was there to confirm what she saw. I had Carlisle to set my broken arm and cast it for me and I could tell that he was disappointed in his son for ultimately causing all the trouble. Edward didn't return before I left and I said my goodbyes to everyone. I decided that there was no way I could safely go to inform Jake of my decision so I just left that for another day and I thought I would just send him a message or something.

Felix drove us back to the airport and we boarded the plane, heading back to Volterra. The plane ride was a pleasant silence and I welcomed it, only talking with Felix briefly when we arrived in Italy. Demetri met us at the airport and help to load my meager belongings into the car and we drove the short distance to Volterra. Jane escorted me to the throne room while Demetri and Felix carried my belongings to my new room. Aro's eyes narrowed on the cast on my arm as I entered and Marcus growled a little at the sight.

"Bella my dear what happened to your arm?" He gently held out his hands towards my arm.

"It's fine, I had Carlisle cast it to prevent further damage. Edward's grip several days ago resulted in some minor breaks in the bone and this is merely a precaution for now." I said and Aro, Marcus and surprisingly Caius looked murderous. I wanted to change the subject off of this so I asked Aro if things were set up so that my education can continue here.

"Of course, dear one. Everything is ready for you. Now I wondered if you had decided whether to turn and if so, when that may occur?" He asked. That was something that I had been wondering for some time myself and in all honesty I figured that the sooner I did, the more likely I was to be accepted around here and start my new life. I looked over to Marcus and he received my silent message.

"Whatever you desire mi cara." He said almost reverently and I nodded. I had my answer.

"I suppose it makes sense to get the unpleasantness over with first does it not?" I asked and Aro laughed good naturedly.

"Yes I suppose so. Marcus wishes to be the one to change you so I will leave that up to him." Aro said and turned to him. "Brother, perhaps you should take your mate and get things started. We have no plans for a few days so you would not be needed for business." Marcus nodded and escorted me out of the throne room and down a long corridor to the guest room I will be staying in before and during my transformation. It was just as extravagant as the others in the castle and had the same luxurious feel to it. Marcus pulled me over to the bed and although I was a little nervous, remembering vaguely the feeling that James' bite had induced and how painful it was for me at the time, I felt somewhat relaxed in the presence of Marcus.

"I know that you are nervous mi cara but I promise that I will be here when you open your eyes to immortality." He said softly as he held me on his lap and caressed me tenderly. The action sent small shivers of delight through me and he brushed my long chestnut hair from my throat. He inclined his head down to my throat and kissed the pulse point lightly before I felt the sting of his teeth sinking into my flesh. The burning started almost instantaneously and he pulled away after a minute, laying me down onto the large queen bed. The burning was excruciating but I willed myself to be strong and not scream in pain and agony.

Marcus POV

I bit into the soft skin of my Bella's throat and released my venom to her. I was surprised after I lay her down that she did not scream out in pain. I cringed as I remembered the burn from my own transformation some 3000 years ago. I looked at the beautiful woman before me and wondered what I did in this life to deserve a second chance at love. Didyme was like an angel in dark times, rescuing me from the cold abyss of this existence. She had given me hope and with her death, despair came in its wake tenfold. I thought that I was now destined to roam this earth for indefinite centuries alone and wallowing in that despair. My brothers were the only thing keeping me on this planet until this beautiful creature came along. I felt the bond create itself before I even saw it with my ability and I was in awe of the sheer power that our new bond possessed. Where Didyme had been my salvation all those centuries ago, Isabella was now my salvation, bringing me back as close to the living as a vampire could ever be.

She didn't scream out even as the end of the transformation drew near and I saw the changes that were taking place in her appearance. Three days the transformation lasted and she didn't make so much as a sound. Such a beautiful creature already, her features changed ever so slightly, making her into a goddess that would rival those of myth. The end of her transformation was near and she still didn't scream. I listened intently as her feeble human heart sped up to an unearthly pace and stopped suddenly. Her eyes opened and the dark chocolate pools were replaced with the bright crimson that all newborns possessed. She breathed a deep, unneeded breath and her eyes were calculating, tasting the air around her and the scents the air contained. I felt the bond that we shared solidify farther as she gazed into my eyes. She stood and surveyed the room immediately aware of her surroundings and tested her reflexes as if she were a youngster learning to walk for the first time. She looked down to her casted arm and tore off the cast. She looked back up to me, still not speaking a word, only basking in the closeness of one another.

"Are you not thirsty mi cara?" I asked her and she nodded slightly but a smile lit her face. I pulled her close to me and kissed her lips tenderly. I felt her response as the bond that united us solidified farther. I regrettably pulled away and led her back to the throne room where the others were already assembled, awaiting Heidi to return with our meal.

Bella POV

I felt so alive, granted my heart was cold and it no longer beat, but I did. I was no longer the clumsy girl that needed a frequent visitor card at the local hospital. Marcus kept his word and was there when I had awakened to immortality. I could feel the pull towards one another getting stronger. We left minutes later and rejoined the others in the throne room. Marcus told me that Heidi would be coming soon with her 'tour' group. Aro looked up as we entered the room and was surprised to see the crimson eyes I possessed.

"Marcus, brother. I must say that I thought she had changed her mind and decided to wait. I didn't even hear a sound uttered from her room." He said in confusion.

"She didn't make a sound brother. I have never seen anyone turn without once crying out in pain, but she did exactly that." Marcus said while still holding me to his side. He reached out towards Aro and my instinct to protect him took over, activating my shield. I shielded Marcus and Aro was perplexed when he took hold of his hand and saw nothing.

"Curious." He stated. "I see nothing dear brother." He looked to me. "Isabella dear are you shielding his thoughts?" He asked and I nodded shyly but removed the shield from him and nodded for Marcus to try again. Marcus repeated the previous action and Aro's eyes widened as he could now see all that was hidden before.

"This is very interesting. Isabella, do you still possess you human memories?" He asked and I thought for a minute, seeing them all clearly as I did when I was human. I nodded. "Could you push your shield away and allow me a glimpse of your human life?" He asked. Carlisle had once told me that our human memories were often diluted after the change and few of our kind remembered our lives before. I was fortunate I guess, or unfortunate depending on the perspective to maintain those memories.

"I shall try of course." I responded and concentrated on my shield, sending it away from my mind and took Aro's hand and I heard a gasp of shock as the memories played for him. He returned my hand to me as the last memory played and I almost laughed at the shocked expression he was wearing.

"You had been through so much in your mortal life my dear. I promise you that you will have no such pain here." Aro said with conviction. I could only nod in response. "I must ask my dear, how are you controlling your thirst so far?" He asked and until that moment I hadn't even thought about it. I was still a little upset at the idea of taking human life, but seeing it as a natural action for our kind.

"In all honesty I haven't felt the need unless of course someone mentions it." And it was true. I now felt the fiery burn in the back of my throat. I tilted my head to the side as I heard Heidi coming through the hallway followed by numerous beating hearts. I felt venom pool in my mouth a little at the thought and waited rather patiently considering my newborn status. Heidi entered the room with about thirty humans following her. Once they were all inside the room and locked in, I could no longer wait. I looked to Aro and Markus and they gave me a nod. I ran to the closest human and drained them in mere seconds. After my thirst was sated, I looked toward the dais where the three Volturi kings were standing with broad smiles, pleased at what they had witnessed.

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**Wow loved the reviews guys! Keep 'em coming and i will definitely be continueing this little story. Please R&R.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 3

Bella POV

For the first time in a very long time, I was happy with the life I had. Never in my human life had I fit in as well as I did here with the Volturi. Edward was my first love of course, but he was my past and I felt that the connection to him had been long severed. In its wake however, I found that Marcus and I were truly destined to be. I finished my 'meal' and looked towards the brothers who all wore broad smiles and the look of stunned satisfaction was almost laughable. My eyes locked on Marcus and I felt a burn of a different kind. I wanted so much to run up and take him right there, but that just wouldn't be a good idea I thought. So I stalked up to them and went straight towards Marcus, wrapping myself in his embrace.

"You appear to be extremely controlled for a newborn my dear. You only got two of them, are you sure that you don't need more?" I heard Aro comment as Marcus wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm perfect, couldn't be better at the moment." I answered.

"Indeed she is controlled Aro." Marcus replied and kissed my forehead lightly. "If you would excuse us, Isabella and I have some things to discuss."

"Of course Brother. Once Isabella is settled though, I would like to have her train with some of the guard. She needs to learn to control her power and to fight as well for her own protection. Later today we will introduce her to the guard." Aro said and Marcus nodded. I could tell that he didn't want me fighting at all, but saw it as a precaution. Marcus and I walked back towards his study where we could talk and I was a little nervous about the mating bond, but I somehow knew that Marcus wouldn't push me into anything quicker than I was ready for.

"Isabella, I wanted to see what you felt on your end of this bond. I know that it is strong from both sides but I want you to tell me what you feel. I wanted you to know that whatever you decide there will be no pressure for you to act on anything you feel." Marcus said and I could only nod. I take a calming breath and look into his crimson eyes.

"I don't know really. Everything has happened so fast. I don't regret any of the choices I have made in connection to this, but it has been quite a whirlwind. I do feel the connection that we have growing although I haven't really had the time to dwell on those feelings with the traveling back to Forks for my affairs and the transformation." I said and I honestly did feel something for him, but with no time yet to explore it I couldn't say where it would end up.

"I understand Mi Cara. It will take some time for everything to get calmed again but I would like you to find some time to be aquainted with the guard and my brothers as well as myself. For right now though you need to know that the mating bond we have is already but requires a little work before it is fully formed. We have plenty of time for that and I won't push you into it. Now let's go back to the throne room where we can meet up with the guard and my brothers formally. I guess we need to get you some more clothes first though." He said smiling and I suddenly noticed that I was still wearing the clothes that I came home in and I nodded eager to change. Thankfully though I had enough control and forethought that I didn't ruin the clothes I wore. I went to my room and showered quickly grabbing an outfit suitable for the events of the day and met Marcus outside the room. I saw him eye me in appreciation and I smiled slyly.

"See something you like Marcus?" I said raising a brow in question as a smirk covered my face. He growled a little and pulled me towards him.

"You have no idea how beautiful you truly are Cara." He said and I saw his eyes darken a little in lust, sending a pleasant shiver through me.

"Perhaps we should continue this later? We shouldn't keep everyone waiting." I smirked while he let out another growl. Before this a growl from him would have scared me beyond belief, but now I found that my body was reacting to his growls in a different way. His growling rumbled deep in his chest and I found it rather…sexy.

"Of course my dear. I guess we shall continue this another time." He smiled the first full smile that I had seen besides when we were in the throne room after feeding. We walked into the throne room at a leisurely pace and I noticed the room was surrounded in cloaked figures I assumed to be the guard members. I had seen a few of them before but most of them were strangers to me. I hadn't realized that there was such a large gathering of vampires here in the guard of the Volturi. Aro stood as we approached the front of the room. Aro was very peculiar at times and his personality reminded me a little of the mad hatter in Alice in Wonderland. He was amused and overjoyed by the simplest of things but there was also a flamboyant quality to him. He was almost a walking contradiction in terms.

Caius on the other hand seemed to be the exact opposite of Aro. He was extreme like Aro but completely on the opposing end of the personality spectrum. He gave off a cold and uncaring demeanor, merciless and cruel. He wore a semi-permanent scowl just as he did in previous occasions. Marcus seemed to be the brother that maintained the middle ground as far as personality was concerned and seemed to be a pleasant mixture of the two. Marcus and I strode silently towards the brothers and Aro set his eyes on me and a pleasant smile reached his lips.

"Ah, welcome brother, Isabella." He greeted and reached out his hand to me. I place mine in his and he turned me to face the sea of unfamiliar vampires. "I would like to introduce you all to our newest addition. This lovely lady is Miss Isabella Swan. She is in fact a newborn as you can see but fear not dear ones, she is very much in control of herself. After our introductions, I would like for some of the elite guard members to start her training in combat and working with her power. Our dear Isabella is a mental shield and immune to the powers that pertain to the mind." He explained to the guard and the elite guard members who wore the darkest of cloaks nodded in confirmation of Aro's orders. "Before we get into the training though I must remind you all that Isabella is the intended of our dear Marcus and is not to be harmed in any way. You are all required to show her the same courtesy and respect that you would show to myself and my brothers, as well as our mates." Aro finished and started to introduce me to his brother Caius who just gave a stiff nod in recognition. Two women stood behind the thrones looking at me curiously. One was introduced as Aro's mate Sulpicia and the other was Athenadora, Caius' mate. They greeted me with warm smiles and seemed truly happy at my being here.

Aro called for the elite guards to step forward for introductions and I was pleased that I remembered a few of them. Jane and Alec were the first and I could see that they were highly valued for their skill in the guard. I saw the blood relation and instantly knew that they were the ones that Edward referred to as the 'witch twins'. Next up were Demetri, Felix, Chelsea, Afton, Renetta, Corin, etc. After those in the elite guard were introduced the others were asked forward and they introduced themselves. Honestly I was trying to remember their names , but with so many it would take a while to be readily able to spout off their names.

Finally after all of the introductions, the guard were dismissed to their duties and I felt slightly overwhelmed at the moment. I jumped slightly as Aro rested a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you alright dear one?" Aro asked concern evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry. It's just a lot to take in at the moment and I feel like I have a mild case of ADD or something. I am having a little difficulty focusing on things and my mind tends to want to wander a little." I said honestly. It really did feel like there are vast amounts of extra space in my mind and it was extremely hard for me to focus. Aro chuckled good naturedly and nodded.

"It's okay. We all felt that way after the transition and it takes some time to get used to the extra brain power. Now I'm afraid that I must leave you to train with some of the elite guard, but I will be there momentarily to monitor your progress. I must speak with my brothers for a few minutes regarding very important business." He said and called for Demetri to escort me to the training area. After a quick but loving kiss from Marcus, Demetri walked me toward the training area to work on my fighting skills and my powers. Halfway there Demetri started up a conversation with me and I was for once thankful.

"So Miss Isabella, have you had any experience at all with combat?" He asked and I snorted rather unladylike at the notion.

"No I am afraid that my clumsiness and lack of coordination as a human didn't permit me that luxury." I said and he smirked.

"Well have you been able to use your shield since your transformation and if so, how much and how long?" He asked

"I did use it but it wasn't what you would call a purposeful action. I was able to block Aro from reading Marcus for a few minutes and even pushed it away giving him access to my own thoughts. I haven't done it for a long duration but it seemed controlled." I answered honestly and he seemed surprised that I could do that so quickly after my transformation.

"That is actually amazing control for a newborn." He commented. "We will try to expand your shield to guard others from mental attack and teach you how to defend yourself. First what do you know about newborns and their strength?" He asked. I vaguely remembered what I had been told by the Cullens but there wasn't much that was useful.

"I just know that is when we are our strongest physically and although I appear to be the exception, we are ruled by our bloodlust during the first year or so. I remember hearing some things from Jasper about this but most of the memories are vague." I said and he nodded.

"You are correct in those respects but there is slightly more to it than that, but it is good that you maintained your human memories in any clarity." He praised and I felt that I would be blushing if I still could. We made it to the training room and decided that we would work on defense first. Felix and Demetri showed me the basics and after several minutes I grasped them well. We moved on to harder things like blocking physical attacks and counter moves before we moved to working on my shield.

Aro POV

I watched as Isabella left the room with Demetri and I was pleasantly surprised at the young vampire. She continued to amaze us and it hasn't been a full twenty four hours since her transition to this life. I knew that Marcus didn't want her to fight really, but he was finally convinced with what I had gathered from her memories that she needed to have some way to shield herself from the vengeful Victoria. Her mental shield was coming along nicely and would be an asset to the guard and the throne. Athenadora and my dear Sulpicia were already trained in the basics of fighting to protect themselves from a fate similar to that of our dear Didyme. Those foolish Romanians tried to take back their rule and did nothing but cause death and despair in their wake. Thankfully there are only two that remain from the old ruling coven and they have never found the power to challenge us since. I feared that danger would come to Isabella in a different form however.

Bella made several enemies in the vampire world through no real fault of her own. Victoria had been reported to have a large gathering of newborns from the Seattle area and I feared that we would be needed to intervene. Edward Cullen was also a threat to her, seeing as he was so reluctant to let her go and was not spotted with the Cullens when they were last contacted. The boy confused me thoroughly, even with access to his thoughts. He seemed to covet our dear Isabella for her blood and the ability to control her rather than loving her. He loved things about her, but not her as a person. I wasn't sure how his feelings would be altered by her transformation since she no longer has blood to covet but he also seemed to be under the delusion that she was his mate. He wasn't, but Marcus was.

Marcus was much happier than I had ever seen him since Didyme passed and I was truly glad for him. Caius, although he was his usual grumpy self also seemed to be slowly accepting of her as well. I broke my internal ramblings to discuss the situation in Seattle and wondered whether we would have to interfere. The red headed female was surely creating a lot of publicity in Seattle. We talked amongst ourselves and it was decided that since Carlisle was a good friend and still in the area that we would gather some information from him. Carlisle was more than happy to assist and I was also made aware that the young Cullen boy had not been seen since his return from Volterra and he may be a problem. We could only hope that things would calm for our dear Isabella.

We needed to intercept the issue in Seattle quickly and it was debated whether Isabella would go but we finally concluded that it was best for us all to bring her along with us, so long as she was ready. It was settled, we would go to Seattle and take out the threat of the newborns and the red headed witch.

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**Well that is Chapter 3 done**.** What do you think? Any ideas? Please R&R.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 4

Bella POV

"Now Bella we need to work on strengthening and controlling your shield." Demetri commented and I nodded my acceptance. "When you used your shield before were you touching Marcus?" I nodded remembering that we were still holding hands when I shielded him. "Jane." Demetri called and I knew what was coming in a sense. Jane appeared in a matter of seconds.

"Yes Demetri?" She asked, seemingly excited at the idea of using her gift on someone. Demetri turned to her.

"You will be hitting Felix with your gift to see if Bella can expand her shield far enough to cover him. Bella stand right there and try to push your shield outward to encase Felix." Demetri said and I wasn't happy with the idea but I nodded slowly. Felix braced himself and nodded while Jane started on him with her power. It was heart wrenching to see Felix down and in agonizing pain. I tried to force my shield out from me and for a few moments, nothing happened. I concentrated harder and harder, closing my eyes and envisioning what I wanted to occur. I was so focused that I didn't notice that Felix had stopped screaming. I held the shield as Jane was still working her power, even though Felix was covered and I held the shield as long as I could. I managed it for about 10 more minutes until I couldn't hold it any longer and the shield snapped back to me. I heard a brief cry of pain from Felix just before Jane stopped her power and I opened my eyes to see that they were all looking at me with awed expressions. Marcus, Aro and Caius were also standing there with the same expression before they finally snapped back to reality.

"Very nicely done Isabella." Aro clapped and smiled widely, breaking the others out of their trance. I felt relieved that I had managed it somewhat easily and I smiled a little. I started to step towards Marcus and felt like I might get dizzy. As I took my next step, I felt the room spin and was instantly cradled by the strong arms of my Marcus.

"I think you may have overdone it a little Cara." He said softly and I felt the world right itself again.

"How long did I keep the shield up Demetri?" I had to ask. Besides I didn't think that a vampire could get dizzy.

"It was about 12 minutes or so Bella. Considering it is your first try, that is extraordinary." He praised with a smile.

"Cara, you need to feed and then rest a little. It has already been a very long day for you." Marcus suggested.

"Yes brother, I think you are right. Heidi, go out to town and find a few humans that won't be missed if you will?" Aro ordered and Heidi nodded, taking off do as he asked. It really had been a long day for me and I was admittedly a little smug at the fact I could already use my shield that long. I looked over at Felix after Marcus allowed me to stand.

"Felix, are you okay? I'm sorry that I couldn't get my shield up faster." I said, worried that I had caused him so much pain. He just smiled at me and shook his head.

"I'm perfectly fine Bella. In fact I am surprised that you shield reached me as quickly as it did." Felix assured me and I smiled at him. I looked over at Jane who wore a smug smile.

"Oh drop the smug Jane. I know that you are enjoying this but really?" I said raising an eyebrow at her. She looked her physical age as her smugness dropped into a frown and I could have sworn I heard her mutter something close to "killjoy" under her breath. I knew that most if not all the guard didn't mess with her because she could cause them pain so I started to smile at this. I had one up on her and I had to laugh at the thought of her crestfallen face when she figures out that I could pick and jab at her without retaliation.

"What are you smiling and laughing about Cara?" Marcus asked slightly amused and the others looked like they were both amused and curious.

"Oh, nothing. I was just picturing the crestfallen and pouting look that will be on Jane's face once she realizes that she can't use her power against me and I intend to thoroughly enjoy that privilege." I said. Their amusement turned to outright laughter as they processed my words and I dared a look over at Jane. The look she wore was exactly as I had pictured and I just couldn't stop laughing. Jane got irritated of course and lunged toward me and Marcus. I knew that she was headed for me, but the urge to protect my mate was very strong and I got in the defensive crouch and braced for a fight. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jane was flying backwards through the air and I saw no one around her. She impacted with the wall and stood slowly but was resigned to stop the fight she started.

"What the hell was that?" I asked as the rest in the room stood in stunned silence.

"It looks like you aren't just a mental shield my dear but a physical one as well." Aro said still slightly dazed. Huh, well isn't that handy?

"Wait, I did that?" I asked and they all nodded smiling in slight amusement. "Huh, well anyway we can practice with that later. Can you send for me when Heidi returns?" I asked looking at Aro. "Marcus and I need a little private time and I should rest a little." Aro smiled widely and took my hand, bringing it to his lips for a light kiss.

"Of course my dear. I will have someone retrieve you once she returns." I nodded and looked over to Jane.

"Jane I am sorry, I didn't mean to do that to you." I said to her. Her defensive posture had since relaxed and she smiled at me. She nodded in acceptance of my apology and I could see that she would no longer attack me.

Marcus and I walked off back to his chambers located just off of his personal study. We walked in comfortable silence until we entered the bedroom. I sat on the edge of the bed and Marcus sat next to me, still holding onto my hand. I leaned into his shoulder as he released my hand and wrapped his arms around me. He repositioned himself on the bed so that now my head rested firmly onto his broad chest. I sighed in contentment. I was for the first time in a very long time, home. I felt safe and cared for in his arms and although we both agreed that we could take it slow and get to know one another, I wasn't entirely sure that I would be able to deny our attraction for much longer. I cuddled into him and he shifted from his seated position to lay me on the bed. He lay next to me for some time until there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Marcus announced. In stepped Demetri alerting us that Heidi had returned and was waiting in the throne room. I stood from the bed with a reluctant groan, but I knew that I needed to feed. Marcus chuckled lightly at me and we walked back towards the throne room hand in hand. After I was fed, I felt refreshed and ready for anything. Aro decided that I needed to be involved in some of the day to day business so we remained in the throne room.

"Bella my dear there is a matter that has come to our attention and we believe that it is necessary for you to be involved as it pertains to you." Aro stated.

"What is it Aro?" I asked now curious to see what this matter was all about.

"It seems that there is a vampire creating a newborn army near Seattle with the intent to destroy you." He said. Blunt much?

"Victoria?" I said and he nodded. If I were still human then I would be quaking in fear, but now I was surprisingly calm. Damn her. Always trying to ruin what little happiness I would find in my life. "What should we do with her and the army?" I asked, refusing to simply let others handle the situation.

"Since you have made such remarkable progress with your abilities and the discovery of your physical shield, we need to intercept the newborn army and destroy them along with their maker. They not only pose a threat to you but they are also starting to cause a stir with the humans. Since that is the case, you and some of the guard members will head to Seattle and contain the situation. I have also contacted the Cullens and they have gotten word they are headed towards Forks." He said. I nodded. I would have to make sure that Charlie isn't harmed in the process of all this. "I am putting you in charge of the matter since you seem to be who she is after but Felix and Demetri will be your personal guards for your own protection."

"So does that mean that Marcus would not be accompanying me?" I asked.

"I am afraid my dear that Marcus must remain here for now. If the situation gets any worse, we all would have to be present to deal out our punishment. If and only if it is possible, Victoria is to be returned here so that she may face her proper punishment." I nodded in acceptance still clinging tightly to Marcus' hand. So many lives had been destroyed or ended by her vendetta and a part of me understood her grief, but I would have reserved my vengeance for the appropriate person if it were me. She was hell bent on taking her revenge and it was apparent that many more would suffer if she wasn't stopped. I knew that I had to do something.

"When do we leave?" I asked.

"As soon as you are ready my dear." Aro said and we dispersed to our own tasks. Markus walked back to the room with me and I flopped rather unceremoniously onto the bed while Marcus chuckled lightly at my childish action. I really had been having a crazy first day as a newborn vampire and I wondered if the madness would ever stop. I was so deep in thought that I hadn't realized Marcus had pulled me to lie with him on the bed, our backs propped on the headboard. I looked up at him to see he was staring at me intently with so much emotion in his eyes.

"I am so torn Marcus. I feel like I need to go and stop Victoria from all this madness, but yet I do not really want to see her at all. I wanted all this psycho vengeance thing to end and I feel something needs to be done and yet I can't seem to bear the thought of leaving you here." I said as I snuggled closer into his chest. Several hours later I needed to get up and pack some essentials for my return to Forks. I didn't need much but I would be ready for what was to come. Thinking of Forks reminded me of Jake and the realization that I hadn't contacted him as I had originally planned. I hoped that he would forgive me and that we could somehow still be friends. Marcus hadn't said much and I was thankful for the quiet time. I needed it and I believed that he knew that. We were getting ready to go to the jet when Marcus spoke.

"Cara, please be safe and return to me. I lost Didyme and it nearly killed me, but to lose you now that I have only just found you would end my existence. I love you." He said trailing off to a whisper towards the end. I truly didn't want to leave this man here without me.

"I love you Marcus." I said and kissed him with everything I had. I would return to him, or die trying.

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**Well let me know whatcha think. Sorry it has taken me longer than usual. Please R&R.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 5

Bella POV

It was so hard to board the plane knowing that I was leaving Marcus behind. I knew that a lot of my feelings had to do with the bond that we shared as mates. I truly had grown to love Marcus over a very short time and I missed his company dearly. I could feel the pull in my chest and I hated to be away from him for long. I hoped that we could handle this quickly and I could be back at the castle with Marcus soon. Myself and the guard were heading back to Seattle to handle Victoria and her army of newborns and I was admittedly a little nervous at the aspect of a fight. I had also grown rather close to the majority of the guard and they tried to help me keep my mind off of the things to come.

When we arrived in Seattle I could see just how much chaos Victoria had caused. The local newspapers headlined the work of a sadistic serial killer and the body count was staggering along with the number of disappearances. We had to work quickly to contain the situation. I could detect the scents of several different vampires in the area but I knew that there were many more here. Since it was during daylight hours but slightly overcast when we arrived, I suggested that we would send Demetri to track the movements and report back. Since there was a good number of us that came here, traveling as a group during the day would attract some unwanted attention. The guard agreed with my assessment and Alec and Felix stayed close to my side while Demetri and Jane tracked the army's movements. We aquired a small cabin just outside of the city where we could stay hidden until we received word of their movements. Several hours later, Demetri returned with Jane, reporting that the army was moving on Forks. He had detected about thirty newborn scents heading towards the little town and I knew that it would be devastating if they were to attack humans there.

We decided that we would contact Carlisle and have him and his family keep us updated from their end while we followed the army into Forks. I also requested that Carlisle alert the reservation of the newborn army as well and he agreed that we needed all the help we could get. I knew that their involvement was a little unorthodox but I wanted this done quickly as did the others. They pain in my chest was a constant reminder of what awaited me at home.

We were just outside of Forks when we noticed that the scents were fresher, indicating that we were getting close. We were headed to the clearing where I first encountered James, Laurant and Victoria. As we got closer we could hear fighting taking place and we broke into a run. The fight was in full force as we entered the clearing.

"Don't harm the wolves. They are here to help." I stated. The newborns are fair game but Victoria is mine." They nodded and jumped into the fray. I also started to fight but one of the newborns caught my eye and I froze.

"Angela?" I said in disbelief. She turned sharply towards me and snarled at first but recognition shone in her eyes.

"Bella?" She asked in the same tone and I nodded. "I don't want this Bella. I never wanted to be like this and I will no longer fight with them." I nodded in acceptance.

"Stay close to me and put this on." I handed her the cloak that I wore so that the guard would know not to harm her. I saw Victoria in the edge of the clearing and growled lowly at her. I pushed my physical shield from me and wrapped it around her so she couldn't escape. Angela watched my back and did well. Sooner that I had expected, the fight was over and I saw that there was another newborn that the Cullens had taken under their wing. We started to pile body parts into the fires and smoke plumed into the air in swirled columns. The Cullens looked to me with surprised expressions and smiled slightly. I was surprised to see that Edward was with them but he was somewhat occupied. It seems that he had found his mate in the newborn they had adopted. I approached the Cullens and the wolves after the bodies were piled and Alec had knocked out Victoria. Angela stayed close to my side and I saw the questioning gazes from the guard concerning her but I was sure that my glare told them to stay away.

"Bella?" I heard Jake question and I turned towards him. I smiled at him a little.

"Jake it is good to see you. I am afraid I owe you an apology for staying away without explanation. I truly meant to call you but it had been a very interesting couple of days." I said. "I need to be sure that you will watch over Charlie for me." I said and he nodded.

"It's okay Bella. Carlisle explained that you had found your mate and that it was similar to imprinting in our kind. I am just glad that you are happy." Jake said and threw his arms around me. "I will watch over Charlie for you Bells, I promise." I scrunched up my nose.

"The Cullen's were right you do smell awful." I said and he laughed. I turned to Carlisle. "I really cannot stay long since we have to deal with Victoria and being so far from Marcus is a little painful at the moment. I am glad that Edward has found the one for him and I am sorry that you all had to get involved in this issue but it could have been worse." I said.

"We understand Bella and even though we miss you dearly, we understand that you have to follow your heart. Is Angela returning with you?" Carlisle asked. I looked over to Angela and she smiled a little.

"I would like to go with you Bella. There is nothing for me here anymore." She said sadly and I nodded. Demitri carried Victoria as we departed and headed towards Seattle again, doing a little damage control along the way and destroying any evidence of our existence. Angela was scared of course but seemed to be partial to Alec and I smiled a little at the thought. I would have to see if Marcus could see their bonds. Once we finished our damage control, I called Aro as we were boarding the jet.

"Hello." Giana said in Italian.

"Gianna, this is Bella. Please patch me through to Master Aro if you will?" I said politely.

"Of course, one moment." She replied and the line was silent briefly before Aro's voice was on the line.

"Ah Bella. Are you calling to give me an update?" He asked and I swear I could hear the smile in his voice. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes Aro. The army has been destroyed with the exception of Victoria and two newborn exceptions. It appears that Edward joined his family for the fight and was blessed with the meeting of his mate. That newborn is with the Cullen's and there is another with me. I will explain more when I get there but the situation in Seattle is contained and all evidence of our existence destroyed. We are in route with Victoria." I explained.

"Bella normally I don't condone survivors of this type of thing so there better be a good reason for this. Very well, we will see you when you return." He said and we hung up. I hoped that they wouldn't hurt Angela when we returned. I turned to see Angela with a scared look on her face and the rest of the guard looking warily towards me. I would protect Angela from this as much as I could, seeing as she was my only human friend I had during my time in Forks.

"What are we to do with the newborn?" Felix asked and I growled at him.

"We do nothing. Angela is a very close friend of mine and she will not be harmed. Understand?" I said and they all nodded.

"Thank you Bella. I hate Victoria and I didn't want to follow her, but it was that or die. She never told us why we would be fighting and you know how I was as a human. I never wanted to hurt anyone." She sobbed on my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her and shushed her. She calmed and we rode in silence the rest of the way to Volterra.

Aro POV

When Bella called and told me that the situation was contained I was surprised that they were able to get it done so quickly. I was a little anxious about her adoption of a newborn and I usually didn't take prisoners in situations like this but Bella vouched for the newborn. I didn't like that there was another newborn in Forks that stayed with the Cullen's but I was sure that since Edward had taken her as his mate then he wouldn't be a bother to her any longer and for that I was grateful. Marcus had been sulking since Bella left and he stayed hold up in his room. I understood what he was feeling and I felt for him at the moment. I left my office to seek out Marcus and give him the news that his mate would be home soon.

Marcus POV

I felt lost without Bella beside me. When she had left here as a human, I felt the slight pull of the bond, but now that she was a newborn, I felt the pull and the pain become more intense. I was confident in her abilities but still afraid that I would lose her. I had grown to love her so completely in such a short time. I was broken out of my musings as a familiar voice was heard on the opposite side of the door. I knew that my brothers didn't want to see me suffer from another loss and they had been even more of a constant these last few days with Bella being gone. Aro came in with a wide smile and the look on his face told me that we had received word on the mission. I hoped that it had gone smoothly.

"Your mate has wrapped things up sooner that I had expected and is on her way home brother. We will meet with her upon her return for briefing and have Victoria's trial. I know that you would like to be alone with her right off the bat, but I believe that the sooner this issue is resolved, the sooner she will fully be yours." Aro said and I reluctantly agreed. "They are in route with Victoria and one of the newborns that your beloved has apparently adopted." I raised my eyebrow in question and he said she would explain once she was here. I will see you very soon my love.

Bella POV

We arrived in Volterra and thankfully the evening sun was shrouded by clouds. Angela still wore my cloak and she seemed to take comfort in it. It didn't take long till we were pulling up to the gates of our home and I felt the pain in my chest ease the closer I came to seeing my Marcus. Angela stayed very close to me and I knew that she was fearful but I kept her hand tightly in mine for her comfort. We went immediately to the throne room and Jane and Alec opened the large doors wide for the group. I searched for Marcus immediately and his eyes lit up when he saw me. He along with the brothers stood and hugged me in welcome.

"Welcome back Isabella." Aro said and Marcus stayed wrapped around me. They all looked to Angela. "and who is this lovely creature?" Aro questioned.

"This is Angela Weber. She and I were friends when we were human and we attended the same school. Victoria apparently turned her in hopes of getting to me." I stated. Aro took her hand and smiled at her memories.

"Such a pure hearted thing isn't she? Don't worry my dear you are safe here." Aro said and Angela relaxed only a little. She looked confused at his comment and I smiled.

"Aro can see every thought you have ever had with a single touch." I whispered to her. "Don't worry Ang, he won't hurt you." She relaxed further and I gave Aro my hand and pushed my shield away, showing him what had occurred.

"Who are these wolves you conversed with my dear Bella?" Aro asked and Caius tensed a little and there was an angry look growing on his features.

"They are protectors of the Quelliute tribe down at La Push. They are not like true werewolves and don't require the full moon to phase. They are shape shifters and are no threat to us." I stated. Caius relaxed only slightly but I could see that he wanted to run to Forks and slaughter them, or at least part of him did.

I finished explaining the fight and requested to hold the trial for Victoria after we had fed since I forbid the guard to feed near Forks due to the wolves and that it was my hometown. Angela was wary as Heidi led the humans into the room but her instincts took over quickly and I knew she felt guilty for what she had done but I talked her through it. I didn't feel the quilt of killing humans in this way like I thought I would, seeing as I thought of it as a necessary part of this life. Angela calmed farther once I explained my view and nodded in acceptance. Once we were done feeding, Aro ordered Felix and Alec to bring in Victoria. Alec still had her under his power as they brought her in. Oh this would be interesting.

**Please R&R.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 6

Bella POV

I was pleasantly surprised that they had all welcomed Angela into our family and I was glad to have at least someone from my old life here with me. I sighed in relief that Aro had also deemed her worthy for a position here with us. Unfortunately now that was settled, we still had to move quickly with Victoria's trial. I stood with Marcus as Aro ordered Alec to bring Victoria in to face her fate. I knew that they would kill her and I held no remorse for that. She had made my life hell over a stupid vendetta and had destroyed many lives in the process. She was still under Alec's power as she was brought in. Alec lifted his power with a nod to me, signaling that if she tried to escape I would encase her in my physical shield. Victoria came back to herself and looked like a wild, feral animal. I could see her fear and confusion and then she caught sight of me and her whole demeanor changed. She was furious and vengeful.

She tried to make a dash for me but fell flat on her ass as my shield protected me from her. Demetri and Felix restrained her as Aro walked down to her and took her hand to see her thoughts. Seconds later he released her hand with a hiss and turned to his brothers and I. The other wives were not in attendance and didn't care to partake in these types of things. As Marcus' mate, I was also entitled to that choice, but I wanted to know the ins and outs of our society and how our laws and judgments worked for us.

"Her crimes are many and have resulted in the humans asking questions about our existence. She has almost singlehandedly exposed our kind in Seattle and the surrounding areas. Her supposed mate James was just as she is. He hunted our dear Isabella and that resulted in his death from the Cullens. The third member of the group was killed by the wolves that Bella is aquainted with in Forks. They killed him to protect Bella after the Cullens abandoned her." Low growls erupted throughout the room and Marcus pulled me over to his lap, purring to calm me. Aro continued. "She is also responsible for the army of newborns that were eliminated in Forks. She knew Angela's connection to Bella and used that in the hopes of distracting her and killing her slowly." Aro finished.

"Brothers and sister, what is your verdict?" Caius called and I was surprised that he included me in the decision.

"Guilty Brothers and sister" Aro stated plainly.

"Guilty brothers and sister" Caius stated with his usual scowl.

"Guilty Brothers and Mate" Marcus said and I saw Victoria whip her head to me at the word mate.

"Guilty brothers and Mate" I stated and I smirked. "But I do request that I be allowed to carry out the sentence since her vengeance is misplaced towards me." I finished and their eyes widened. They all smiled and agreed with a nod.

"It is agreed and the sentence for your crimes is death. Isabella dear, whenever you are ready." Aro said and I nodded. I put my shield up and ordered demetri and Felix to release her from their grip. I enclosed my sheid around her tighter and tighter. I continued to tighten my shield around her until I heard the cracks forming in her body and saw the venom pooling on the floor. I thought of all the things that I had endured during her pursuits of me and as my anger increased, so did the strength of my shield. I watched as her body broke into tiny shards of marble and a sea of venom. When she was destroyed in tiny pieces I removed my shield and held out my hand to Demetri for the lighter. I watched in almost sick fascination as her body turned into ash and her torment of me had finally ended.

"Clean this up will you Demetri?" I said and I saw a curt nod from him as I turned towards the brothers. They wore strange expressions. Aro was fascinated and slightly fearful of my new trick. Caius looked like he was sad that he couldn't do the same thing and Marcus wore a look of pride and concern. I finally found myself laughing at their dumbfounded looks which helped to snap them out of it.

"Aw, come on snap out of it already. So I crushed her with my shield, is that a problem?" I asked and Caius smiled widely. I think that me and my vengeful side will get along fine with him from now on.

"My dear that was absolutely brilliant!" Aro said and clapped coming out of his stupor. I laughed at his delayed enthusiasm. Marcus stepped over to me and wrapped me tightly in his embrace.

"You are a force to be reckoned with Cara." He whispered to me in my ear, sending shivers of delight through me.

"I like this new powerful and vengeful Bella if I do say so myself. In a way, it suits you." Caius commented. I smiled at the thought of what the Cullens would think of their fragile little Bella now. I laughed at the thought and they looked at me curiously. I shook my head and smiled as the thought left me.

"Well what do you expect from someone who as a human became aquainted with shape shifters and vampires?" I said and Caius and his brothers laughed and nodded, seeing my point. I noticed that Angela looked at me in horror from the far side of the room and I felt bad for her having to witness this. She wasn't ready for the cruel part of our world yet.

"Alec." I called and he was before me in a second. "Please take Angela to her room and stay with her. I will come and talk to her as soon as I am finished here. Maybe you can explain some things to her as well." He nodded and took Angela gently out of the room. I felt like a complete monster for not getting her out of the room before Victoria was killed. She would now see me as a monster for how I ended Victoria. I felt Marcus wrap his arms around me and hugged me tightly to him as I stood there quietly. I had no guilt for Victoria, but was concerned that Angel being a newborn wouldn't understand what had happened. She wasn't used to violence in her human life. Has she seen what I had been through she would have a better understanding.

"Bella what is wrong?" Marcus asked me and I looked up into his eyes. I also noticed that the brothers were also watching in concern. I sighed with an unneeded breath.

"I just should have had Angela taken from the room before I did that. Angela doesn't understand much of our world yet and she looked at me like she didn't know me at all. I wasn't that vengeful or aggressive in my human life so she really doesn't understand right now. I just want her to understand that in this life there are things that we would need to do that go against the nature we had as humans. She was the daughter of a pastor and had certain values that she upheld, which will be hard for her to overlook." I said.

"Isabella she will understand. We often forget that you are a newborn since you are so different. You are wise and controlled like an elder and it will take Angela some time to adjust where you fit in perfectly." Aro said and I smiled. He was right that the transition was a little different for me. Mom always said I was born middle aged and I guess that was true in this life as well. I laughed at that thought while the others looked to me in question and I smiled.

"I was just thinking about what my mother used to say. She was always more the kid that I was. She told me that I was born middle aged since I was so mature for a child. I guess I was born into this life the same way." I said and they smiled and nodded in silent agreement. "I need to go check on Angela real quick and we will talk later. Marcus would you like to come with me?" I wanted him near me but also wanted him to see what the bonds were between Alec and Angela. He smirked and I guessed that he already knew part of my motive for asking him to come with me. I followed her and Alec's scent toward some of the lower guest rooms and knocked lightly. Alec answered the door and ushered us both into the room. Angela was perched on the bed wrapping her arms around her knees. I approached her slowly.

"Ange, I am sorry that you had to see that in the throne room. You weren't ready to know the dark parts of our world yet. I wasn't trying to scare you. That was never my intention but you must understand that I cannot be the meek and clumsy Bella in this life. I have power like most of us here do, but we do not abuse it. It is necessary to use it sometime to protect ourselves and others. Please understand that what you saw in the throne room isn't a common occurance and I didn't mean to frighten you or make you feel like you have no choices here." I had moved during my speech to Ange and took her hands in mine. Marcus and Alec stayed close, but kept enough distance to not overwhelm her. Angela looked into my eyes and smiled slightly.

"I understand Bella. Alec explained that wasn't a common thing here and that she had chased you for some time. I am glad that she is gone but I do not wish to be present for anymore trials like that one. I understand why you did what you did and I accept that as a part of our lives now but it doesn't mean I really like it. There was a small part of me that was grateful for you getting your vengeance on her and my own vengeance was equally served in the act. I love you Bella and I missed you so much." Angela sobbed out the last part and threw her arms around me. I held her until her sobs died down and handed her off to a smiling Alec. I looked at him and whispered to him.

"So help me Alec if you do anything to hurt her, you are mine. Understood?" I threatened and he looked slightly scared. He nodded and Marcus and I left, heading back to our room for a little time alone. I asked Marcus about their bonds and I was happy to hear that Angela and Alec were in fact mates. Marcus did warn Alec to take it slow with her considering that she was a newborn and would need time to adjust. As we lay there together I really wasn't sure how much longer I would be able to abstain from making this man all mine. I sighed in contentment and kissed him passionately. We broke from the kiss and I could see the lust smoldering in his eyes.

"Marcus I really don't know how much longer I can resist you. I want you so bad but I have never been with anyone like that before and it is a little overwhelming to think about." I told him honestly.

"Not even with young Cullen?" He questioned and I shook my head.

"No, I thought that I wanted to and I did at one time, but now I am glad I didn't take that step with him. He would always shut down when intimacy was mentioned and we never went past a chaste kiss or two. He would say that he was afraid to hurt me and I understood to an extent, but it did make me feel unwanted." I said and I was honestly glad that we didn't take that step now.

"Cara, we can do that whenever you feel that you are ready. I will not push you, and since you are more controlled than most newborns we can do so whenever you like." Marcus told me and I smiled. I started kissing him again and things got even more heated. Marcus was slow and gentle with me, loving me as only a true mate could and giving me ample time to adjust. I enjoyed our first time immensely and we curled into one another afterwards. Marcus told me that mates usually mark one another but told me he wouldn't until I was ready. He said that it was when our animalistic side takes over and he didn't want to scare me during our first intimate moments. He explained all of the aspects of mating and I was amazed by the process. The reason I felt pain away from him was because we had yet to complete the mating process. I was thankful that once it was complete, I could go on missions if necessary without enduring the pain as I had the last time.

We showered and dressed to meet the brothers and their wives. Ange was safely tucked away in her room talking with Alec who had promised that he would take their courtship slowly for her sake. We walked at a pleasant pace to the throne room where the others were again gathered.

"Ah brother Marcus and my dear Isabella." Aro greeted. I smiled at him. Aro always had a flare for the dramatic. He took my hand and kissed lightly across my knuckles as he always did. Caius repeated the same process and I think he was warming up to me. Athenadora and Sulpicia both embraced me in warm hugs as the brothers approached their thrones. Each placed their mate on their laps and the brothers talked about various things while the women chimed in on occasion.

"Isabella, how is our newest member doing?" Aro asked in true concern.

"Angela is doing fine at the moment. She seems quite taken with young Alec. Marcus confirmed my suspicions but Alec agreed to move slowly with her." I said and I thought about her not having any belongings. "She will however need some necessities such as clothing and toiletries and such. She wasn't able to retrieve her belongings as I was. Someone will have to go fetch some things for her seeing as she is a newborn and doesn't have the control like I possess." I finished and Aro nodded.

"Bella dear I don't think there is anyone that has the control you possess." Caius commented.

"My my Caius. Was that a compliment I just heard? Are you going soft on us?" I said with a smirk while the brothers laughed and the wives tried to hide their giggles.

"I think she has you dear husband." Athenadora said smiling at him. He returned it with a smile of his own and I couldn't resist.

"Oh first a compliment and now a smile from the almighty Caius. Hell had officially frozen over Marcus." I say and I hear a chuckle rumble from Marcus' chest.

"Indeed it has Cara." Marcus said kissing my cheek and I see Caius's scowl returning but slightly upturned in the corners.

"Oh Isabella you are a joy." Aro says trying to control his laughter.

"Just toying with you a little brother. We cannot allow that ego to get too big or there would be no room for the rest of us." I told Caius laughing. Everyone including Caius broke out into fits of laughter and minutes later I notice that some of the guard have come in to see what the commotion is. The elite guard and Angela are all standing there looking at us in confusion, but there is a slight smile there too at seeing the Masters and their mates all so happy. Aro dismissed the guard to their duties and once we calmed down, we got down to business.

"Oh I almost forgot. Jane?" I called. She was there in a flash.

"Yes Mistress."

"Could you please get some measurements for Angela and get her some clothing and other necessities. She would probably like to have something else to wear by now I'm sure." I said.

"Of course Mistress. Heidi gave her some items moments ago, but she would enjoy some of her own things." Jane replied.

"Thank you Jane." I said and Jane sped away to her task. The others were looking at me with a strange expression. "What?" I asked.

"Always thinking of others cara." Marcus said and purred in my ear, sending shivers of delight through me.

"Well, thankfully that is one human trait that did not leave me." I said and was about to say more when the doors of the room flew open. Three vampires that were definitely not part of the guard ran towards the thrones and I put up my shield on instinct.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Aro said with authority as the three hit the shield and flew backwards. They looked up confused. Demitri, Felix, Angela and Alec ran in to see the three men and I was scared for Angela as one of the men set their sights on her. The man started to charge towards her and I flipped my shield so it encased the three men and he fell flat again. I could see that Angela was terrified.

"Alec please take Angela back to her room and stay there until this is sorted." I ordered and they looked skeptical. "I have it under control for the moment." I assured him and he led Angela away. Once they were gone I tightened my shield forcing the three to the center of the room.

"Afton come here please." Aro ordered. Afton appeared practically out of thin air. "Bella dear, I want you to flip you shield and allow Demetri, Felix and Afton to subdue our uninvited guests. Once they have them, please lift your shield so that we can get to the bottom of this nonsense." Aro stated and I smiled.

"Of course Aro." I said and nodded to the guards to be ready. I flipped the shield and they tried to lunge. Felix, Demetri and Afton grabbed the three vampires and I lifted the shield from us. I nodded to Aro who moved forward and touched the three men. He hissed in displeasure and said one word that I had learned to be trouble for the Volturi. "Romanians."

**Please R&R. Let me know what you think but be nice. If you do not like the pairing, then dont read it.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 7

Aro POV

I had hoped that this day would never come. The three unknown vampires before me were sent by the Romanians Vladimir and Stefan. They knew that it was futile to send them in here to destroy us so the question was why did they?

"It seems that these three were sent to destroy us brothers. They would have failed with or without the assistance of our dear Isabella, so the question is why would the try something so futile as this?" I said. It was practically suicide to try something like this. Maybe the Romanians were getting desperate. Just then Heidi and Chelsea came in with two more unknown vampires.

"Masters, these two were spotted heading into the tower. Apparently they were after the wives." Chelsea stated. I was furious that they were sent to the chambers that our wives frequent when we were doing business.

"Aro if I may?" Isabella stood and approached me. I nodded. "They sent three to dispatch the brothers and two to the towers for the wives? They perhaps hoped that our guard would be ill prepared and only be able to stop one of the attacks. They did not plan on Dora and Cia being here with you and of course they didn't know about me." Isabella stated and she did have a valid point since most of the guard was spread out handling other items.

"Perhaps she has a point Brother." Caius stated still clinging to Dora.

"I believe that Dora and Cia should no longer be separated from you during business, at least until this matter is settled." Bella said and I agreed with a nod. Can you gather anything else brother?" she asked and one of the intruders scoffed.

"And who are you? Marcus getting so desperate that he has a full time whore?" One of the men said and I saw the change in Bella as her shield reached out to him. Marcus was enraged but Caius was holding him in place for the moment. She pulled her shield around him like she did with Victoria and pulled him close with a menacing growl that I had never thought she could pull off.

"You will hold your tongue, else you find it ripped from your person." She told him menacingly and smirked evily. I was slightly scared of her at the moment. Protection of a vampires mate causes them to be much more dangerous. "Not that it really matters, you will be dead soon." She held her shield and turned to us. "Brothers, sisters and my dear mate. It appears that we have an unscheduled trial to attend to. These five stand accused of an attempted attack on us. They are here because the Romanians sent them which constitutes treason on their parts. How should we proceed Brothers? And my dear Marcus?" I will admit that I enjoyed seeing this new side of my new sister. She fit in perfectly here and seemingly without effort.

"Chelsea should break their bonds so that we can hear what the Romanians have in store for us. Then perhaps we should move on with the trial dear sister?" I said and received a nod from the others and Bella. Just then Jane returned and ran through the doors looking frantic. Bella smiled at her.

"Don't worry Jane. We could not have foreseen this and there was no harm done. Restrain this piece of trash so that Chelsea can work her magic." Bella ordered. Jane immediately took hold of the man so that Bella could lift her shield. Chelsea removed their bonds to the Romanians and they were all questioned. I had seen all of their thoughts and I feared for my mate and my family. I was surprised that Bella was the one to take charge of this the way she has.

"What is the verdict dear brother?" Bella said while smiling at me. I couldn't believe that she was able to be this authoritative with such a kind heart.

"Guilty for all of them. Brothers?" I said.

"Guilty." They said in unison with Dora and Cia.

"Isabella?" I asked.

"Guilty." She stated. "I believe that I will let the brothers handle this one. I will shield my sisters." She turned and headed to the far side of the room where Cia and Dora were. Caius and Marcus joined me near the accused.

"Brothers it has been a while since we had a good fight. Wouldn't you agree?" Caius sneered. He was certainly enjoying this.

"I agree brother. Perhaps we should educate them on the reason that we have ruled through the centuries." Marcus added and I was overjoyed that he had Bella in his life. She had resurrected him from his despair. It has been centuries since Marcus took part in a trial such as this.

"Indeed we shall." I said. "Release them and step aside." I ordered of the guard and they complied. Sure it was five against three, but in a matter of minutes, they were in pieces. We piled them and lit the pyre, watching our enemies' destruction. I looked over to our wives and Bella who were standing with smirks of satisfaction. The guard cleaned up the mess and the guard dispersed with the exception of Felix, Demetri, and Jane.

Bella POV

I have never been one for violence, especially on those that were not deserving, but once those vampires attempted to attack us I was a different person. I still believed that there were innocents and some that didn't deserve violence against them, but there were also those that invited violence by their actions against others. I had been told by Edward that the Volturi were ruthless and were unforgiving monsters, but living here with them proved to me that was not the case. They protected their own and did what was necessary to provide for their family. They also made sure that our laws were upheld and the guilty were punished accordingly.

The brothers and their wives along with Marcus and I were all sitting in the throne room after the intruders were destroyed. I felt a sense of pride that my family had survives thousands of years in their position as leaders of our kind and I had proven myself worthy of them.

"Isabella I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with you. Since you have arrived, you have never ceased to amaze us." Aro stated. I felt that if I could have blushed I would be bright red at the moment

"I agree Bella. You have proven worthy of being here with us and ruling with us. Cia and Dora do not wish to take ruling status here beside us and you have the same right as they do to bow out, but I do wish that you would consider ruling beside us." Caius said. I was speechless for a moment. I looked at Marcus who was smiling widely at me.

"The choice is yours Cara. Whatever you decide." Marcus said and I smiled. I had my decision made.

"Brothers it would be an honor to rule beside you." I said with a smile. Dora and Cia looked proud as well as the brothers.

"Perfect my dear. We will have to have a celebration in honor of your decision." Aro said a little too happily. Can vampires take Valium?

"Brother before you get too excited over there, there is another matter I would like to ask Cara about." Marcus said with a smile and stood, walking to stand before me and knelt down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box and I gasp in realization of what he was doing. "Isabella Swan, I know that we have not know one another very long but I have fallen for you harder than I could have imagined. I wish to make you my mate, my queen and my wife. Isabella will you do me the honor of being my wife?" He said and I could feel the venom tears of happiness forming in my eyes.

"Yes Marcus, I would be honored to stand by you as your mate, your Queen and your wife." I replied. He smiled happily and placed the ring on my finger. He embraced me tightly and kissed me passionately. I heard clapping and cheering causing me to look up in curiosity. The entire guard was here and the brothers and their wives were all wearing large smiles.

"Well brother this does indeed call for a celebration." Aro said clapping happily. "We will invite all of the clans to meet their new queen." I groaned a little.

"Is the fanfare really necessary?" I asked. Caius looked like he sided with me in terms of not liking the extravagance and attention. Aro smirked at my discomfort of course and I groaned again. Again with Aro, always with the flare for the dramatic. I certainly hoped that if he went through with this whole celebration thing, that immortality had gifted me with the ability to dance without the previous embarrassment.

"We have plenty of time to discuss the celebration but I would like to train with my shields some more and then relax a little. We also need to discuss what to do with the Romanians." I said. That took some of the wind out of their sails. His joy deflated and I felt a little bad for bringing the death of his momentary happiness. I stood from Marcus' lap and went over to Aro. I looked to Cia and she nodded, moving out of his lap so that I could go to him. I placed both hands on his face and tilted it so that his eyes met mine.

"Aro I am sorry to put a damper on your happiness. I promise that we have ample time to discuss a celebration like you have envisioned, but we should consider the threat as our first priority. I only wish to protect the Volturi, those whom I now consider my family. We are a slightly dysfunctional family I will admit, but family none the less." I said and he emitted a strange choked laugh, but smiled widely. Cia and Dora were trying to contain their giggles. Caius had his signature sneer but it was slightly upturned as if he was holding back a grin. Marcus smiled at me unabashed.

"You are correct Isabella my dear. Please forgive my oversight and inability to arrange my priorities accordingly." Aro said and pulled one hand away from his face and kissed my knuckles in thanks. I smiled at him sincerely.

"No need for an apology brother and there is nothing to forgive." I said and he smiled. "Brothers I believe that Cia and Dora should also train as well. I know that they have trained previously, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a refresher course if you would call it that." Cia returned to her post on Aro's lap and I returned to Marcus. Marcus smiled and wrapped me in his arms tightly as I leaned into his chest.

"I agree sister. We need to be prepared for the unforeseen. Our mates are our main priority and so is their safety." Caius commented and winked in my direction. He was definitely warming up to me.

"Very Well. Demetri?" Aro called and he was present within seconds.

"Master?" He replied.

"Please take our mates to the training room and have them prepared for the unforeseen. We want them all to be able to fight if it indeed comes to that." Aro said and Demetri nodded. "The brothers and I will be along shortly to monitor their progress but there are some things we must discuss first." Cia, Dora and I stood and bid our goodbyes to our mates. We followed Demetri from the throne room and down the corridors to the training facilities. Dora was to my left and Cia was on my right.

"Isabella I am so glad that you are here with us. If you were not, I believe that the circumstances would have been much different today. We have many guards and we trust them dearly, but they simply cannot be everywhere at once." Cia commented.

"I believe that you both would have been fine, however it is daunting to imagine what the outcome could have been today. Let's not dwell on the 'what if's shall we. That's too depressing for my taste." They both nodded.

"I will say that when we were introduced to you, I wouldn't have believed that you could help to reign Aro in and also make Marcus so happy." Cia said and I laughed.

"I honestly didn't mean to rain on his parade, but he did need just a little redirection." I commented.

"There has also been a change in Caius. He has never smiled so much in public and he does seem to be quite happy that you have agreed to rule beside them." Dora said smiling.

"That reminds me. Why do you two not rule with them?" I asked in curiosity.

"We simply do not wish to and we never had the knack for giving out orders and sentences. I can see that ability clearly in you, but we lack that particular gift." Dora said and Cia nodded as we reached the training room where some of the guards were already working. The stopped and acknowledged our presence and returned to their work.

"Felix, Jane, Alec, Afton, Renetta." Demetri called and they were there in an instant. "Felix and Jane, you will be working with Mistress Isabella and myself again. Afton, Alec and Renetta, take Mistress Sulpicia and Mistress Athenadora through the warm ups and instruct them on enhancing their fighting capabilities." They nodded and Cia and Dora were spilt to the other side of the room and began warm ups just as I did. When warm ups were completed, Demetri showed me some more complex moves than before and I quickly got them down. After several hours of training, we regrouped and started to spar.

Jane and I were called to the center and instructed not to use our gifts for this session. We took our positions and I filed through the memories of the things that Jasper had told me on how a newborn often fights. I made sure to catalogue these things as something I wouldn't do. I replayed some of the moves that I had witness the Cullens doing and was able to learn them quickly through my memories. The signal for the fight started and Jane lunged but I dodged quickly, grabbing her arm and threw her with more force that intended across the room. She stood up in surprise and lunged again but I did the same as before by grabbing her arm. I swung her around, ending up behind her with my teeth poised at her neck and my grip firm. She threw her shoulder into my body, loosening my grip and pulled away. This time I lunged and sent a kick to her chest. Poor Jane flew backwards several feet and I recognized the look of frustration on her face. She lunged again but I jumped at the last possible minute and landed behind her. I grabbed her by the throat and pulled her down to the floor, again with teeth poised at her throat.

When it was finally over I relaxed from my crouch and stood to my full height. I looked around the room at the stunned expressions and almost laughed. I saw Demetri with a proud smile and I saw his eyes flick to something behind me. I whirled around, catching Jane again by the throat and slammed her to the ground. She looked at me with shocked wide eyes and I smiled.

"You do know Jane that attacking someone from behind is not the honorable thing to do. Then again if this were a real fight I wouldn't expect anything less." I said and she smiled as I released her. I held out my hand and helped her up. I looked around the room again and the others were still stunned frozen. I couldn't help but laugh which finally brought them out of their stupor.

"Bella how did you do some of those moves? We haven't covered any of them and some I haven't seen since the southern vampire wars." Demetri asked and I smiled. "You didn't even make the mistakes that most newborns make while fighting the first time.

"If you recall, I have all of my memories from my human life and I have been privy to some of those moves by simply watching. I can somehow replay them in my mind and then perform then as if I had done them for years." I explained and I swore that every jaw in the room dropped in awe.

Caius POV

Never in all my years in existence has someone who wasn't my mate affected me so deeply. Isabella was a strange creature in her human form and seemed to flourish here. She evened out the power that we all possessed and gave us all hope for our kind. While Aro was the ever happy one of the three and Marcus was the profoundly bored one, I had always been the merciless and cruel one that much was true. Cia and Dora evened us out greatly but since Bella's arrival, I have seen a side of her personality that I greatly enjoyed. She was a spitfire, sarcastic at times and at other time cruel. She knew exactly when to be ruthless and when to be compassionate. My own mood had also improved greatly on her arrival as a member of the ruling party.

Isabella seemed tactical in her approach to most things and it also seemed that she had an answer for everything. I was so glad that she had managed to reign Aro back in and get him back on the most important of issues. When she agreed to rule beside us I smiled internally. She was a strong woman as a human and almost unstoppable as an immortal. She brought a balance of justice and fairness along with the ruthlessness that was needed to rule our kind. When we held the trial for Victoria I thought that she would cower in fear, but she did the opposite of what I had foreseen. Watching her crush the red head with her shield was awe inspiring and I could see the sheer power eminating from her.

I was worried when she had rescued another newborn from Victoria's army. I feared that she would bring someone who would eventually turn and destroy our way of life. The girl she rescued was a friend of hers as a human and she vouched for her. I was more accepting of this as it was revealed that the girl was the mate to one of our most trusted guards, Alec. Bella had a compassionate nature but wielded unknown amounts of power.

"Brothers as much as I despise this, we have to know more about what the Romanians intentions are. We cannot put our mates in danger and we must eliminate the Romanian threat once and for all." Aro said.

"I agree Aro. What did you find in their thoughts?" I asked. I feared that there was more than what was revealed at the trial.

"The Romanians planned the attack to weaken our family and then attack with an army. Since the plan failed I am not sure what or when they will attempt again." Aro said.

"We need to keep our mates safe for sure and I don't think that will be a problem at all. Perhaps we should send some of our trusted scouts to collect information on their movements?" I added. My brothers nodded in agreement.

We agreed on a course of action and postponed the announcement of Bella as a fourth ruler since that would definitely draw the attention of the Romanians. We talked on similar topics and also talked of Bella and what an asset she was to us. We all loved her and she fit in perfectly here, as if she were born specifically to be in this position. We heard Bella's laughter from the training room and I smiled along with the brothers. We closed our discussions and made our way to the training area.

**Please R&R.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 8

Aro POV

We broke up our discussion and made our way down to the training area to check on the progress being made with our mates and their training. I could hear Isabella's laughter and it warmed my dead heart. I had seen from her human memories the things she had experienced and I was appalled that a single human could endure so much heartbreak, so to hear her laughter resonate through the halls was music to my ears. We entered the training room and no one seemed to notice. Bella was in the sparing ring with Jane and I saw them both smiling. The others seemed to be in an amazed stupor and I wondered what had transpired before we arrived. Dora and Cia were the first to notice our presence and walked over to us. Bella was smiling in triumph but waved her hands in front of Demetri as if to wake him up. She noticed us and smiled. I looked over at Cia in question and she gave me her hand. I watched the scene in her memory play out and I was amazed. Apparently the guard had been in a state of shock at her explanation, not that I really blame them.

Most of us had very little to no access to our human memories and she had access to all of them. Aside from that she seemed to be able to pull things from her memory that she had seen done and master them without formal instruction. It wasn't something that we had ever classified as a gift, but Bella seemed to be in possession of such a gift. I watched Dora's memory of the fight and was pleasantly surprised that Bella had beaten Jane. Bella was a rare gem and an intriguing puzzle for all of us. No one knew exactly what she would do or how she would react. She was the perfect mix of compassion and ruthlessness and she was an amazing immortal.

Bella POV

The guard members were still in a state of shock when the brothers arrived and I saw Dora and Cia move towards them. Dora placed her hand in Aro's and I knew that she was showing him the fight that had taken place between Jane and I. I watched his reaction to the memory and he smiled widely, pleased with the progress that had been made. Marcus and Caius looked at the guard members in confusion and I laughed. After what seemed like forever, the guard members broke out of their stupor and got back to work. I walked over to the brothers and found my home in Marcus' arms. God I loved this man.

I loved everything about him and the brothers as well as their mates had explained what he was like before we met. I knew that he had been mated before and she had died so long ago. Marcus remained but he did not rejoin his life until I came along. Many thought of him now as the sad excuse for a ruler and the quiet one. It was true that he wasn't the most talkative person on earth, but what he did say rang with authority and purpose. The terms 'silent but deadly' came to mind thinking of his demeanor. I was shaken from my internal musing when Marcus leaned down and kissed me passionately. I wanted him so bad right now but we had more important matters to attend to at the moment.

"Isabella it seems that you have managed to shock the entire guard. How did you manage that?" Caius asked with his trademark smirk. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Well first I beat Jane in a sparring session and used some moves that were not something I had been taught here. I also didn't make the mistakes that most newborns do while fighting. Demetri said that some of them he hadn't seen since the southern wars." I said as if it were no big deal. The three brothers looked at me with wide eyes and Marcus wore a proud smile.

"Demetri, come here." Aro ordered and I knew what he was doing. He was getting the fight from his perspective. He touched Demetri's hand and I could see him playing the memory through his mind and he released Demetri. "It seems that our new Queen has something of a tactical gift. She can see or remember fights and instantly know how to use those moves while fighting. The closest I have seen to this gift is the Captain." He finished and I must have looked confused because Marcus spoke.

"During the Southern Vampire wars, there were three that trained with Maria and her army. They were called the lieutenant, the Captain and the Major. I don't recall that the lieutenant had a gift, but the others did. The captain had a sort of intuition you could say, similar to a seer but without the mental image. The Major had the ability to control emotions, an empath. You are actually familiar with the Major but he goes by another name now." He said smiling.

"The only ones I know are the Cullens. Jasper is an empath but …." I stopped. Jasper was a Hale but what was his true name. Wait he was a Whitlock, and he did say he was from Texas once and he did have the accent. I was mentally putting the pieces in place and it hit me. "Jasper is the Major?" I asked and they nodded. Boy did I feel stupid for taking so long to figure that out.

"I do miss them so much. Poor Jasper must feel so bad after trying to take a bite out of me, and I haven't seen or heard from them since that horrible night." I said sadly. "Well not Edward of course but the rest of them were like family to me before they left. Rosalie and I never got on well but I did love her."

"We could ask them to come here if you would like. I would like to see the newborn that young Edward had claimed as his mate." Aro mused.

"I would like to see them of course, but let's get through the ordeal with the Romanians first before we do anything else. I don't like for things to hang over my head like that and I would like to be able to enjoy their visit." I explained and they nodded. "I would also like to meet this Captain you spoke of." They nodded and we ended training for the day. Marcus and I retired to our room and we could both feel the need and desire for one another.

"Marcus, make me yours. Mark me and show the world that you are mine and I am yours." I said and that was all it took. After a feral growl and hours of love making, we ended by marking one another in the throes of passion. We sealed the bites and lay there basking in what had just occurred.

Everything with Marcus and I was moving so fast, but I didn't regret any of my decisions on our mating or getting married. I remembered that when I was with Edward, we would often argue about the issue of marriage and intimacy. Marriage wasn't something that I believed necessary at such a young age with him. For whatever reason, my view of marriage had changed now that I had Marcus in my life. I had reservations about marriage with Edward or anyone else for that matter, but with Marcus it seemed right and completely natural.

I had come to realize that there were many things that I had been wary of when it came to Edward. It was as if in the back of my clumsy mind there were warnings, telling me that my frail human heart would be broken. I had disregarded those internal warnings and dived in head first. I had unwittingly set myself up for the heartbreak. I was not saying that it was totally myself that was at fault, but I had been part of the problem. I had pushed the intimacy issue with him as well and I was fortunate that he had refused. A part of me loved Edward unconditionally, but the majority of my person realized even then that he simply wasn't the one for me. His refusal to change me was also something I couldn't agree with. If we were destined to be together, why would he want to refuse me my hearts desires, especially if it meant that I would be with him forever?

When he did leave me in the woods that day there was a part of me that was sad and depressed, but also a part of me that knew it was not meant to be for us. I mourned the loss of him and became depressed but I finally found my true self. I began to recover slowly from my heart's betrayal and became so much stronger. What hurt more was the departure of his family whom I had adopted as part of my own. I knew that after Edward left, we weren't mates and I survived that, but their departure was the hardest pill to swallow. When I came to Volterra to save him from doing something so foolish, it wasn't for him, but his family. I couldn't bear the thought of Carlisle and Esme mourning their oldest son, or the others mourning the death of a sibling.

I can't recall the exact moment when my feelings for Edward changed but I did know that his actions led me to become wary of the relationship and his departure was the final nail in the coffin so to speak. I didn't dwell on it, seeing as now I had all that I would ever need beside me. I noticed while my thoughts were running ramped that Marcus was looking down on me in love and I knew he was wondering what thoughts had me so distracted from the real world.

"Cara, what has you so distracted?" Marcus asked and I smiled.

"I was thinking about how far I had to come to be mated to you. Fate chose us as mates but if certain thing hadn't happened the way they did, I would have never met you my love." I said and he kissed me passionately. "I was thinking about the past and my relationship with Edward before and I knew somewhere in my mind the whole time that it wasn't meant to be, but I ignored the mental warnings for some odd reason. I believe I unconsciously did so to get closer to meeting you." I finished.

"That is an interesting theory." He mused. "I know that you loved him in some way but your bonds were strained and frail." I just shrugged.

"Well it doesn't matter much now. I have you and I don't plan on giving you up." I said smiling and he growled low in his chest.

"We need to meet the brothers and sisters in the throne room again before we move on to training my dear, so as much as I hate to move from our current position, we need to prepare to go to them." Marcus said and I groaned.

"After all of this mess is over, I am not coming out of this room for at least a week and neither are you." I told him seriously and he laughed.

"I will hold you to it my beautiful mate." He purred and I moaned at the sound. He smiled, enjoying my reaction and earned a glare from me. "Come on my dear." He stood and held out his hand for me to take. We got ready and I wore a blouse that allowed full view of my mark. I knew that it was nothing at all for me to be embarrassed about and I wore the mark proudly. We walked at a leisurely pace down to the throne room where the others were already gathered and they smiled as we approached.

"Marcus, Isabella, so wonderful for you to finally join us." Aro said with a smirk and the girls giggled while the boys snickered. I rolled my eyes at their antics and went to sit in the throne that belonged to Marcus. I sat down defiantly with a smile and he just smirked. He flew to where I was seated and at vampire speed pulled me to him and I squealed in surprise. Before I knew it he had lifted me from his seat and sat down, drawing me into his lap. I glared playfully at him while the others laughed at our playful display.

"I'll say brother I haven't seen you like this in thousands of years. Isabella must be a good influence on you to make you act in such a way." Caius snickered and smirked. Again I rolled my eyes.

"Behave Caius." I ordered playfully. "I would hate for you to find yourself on the receiving end of one of my sparring sessions brother." I said smirking and his eyes widened. "Poking fun at your brother and sister might be a sure way to do that." I raised my eyebrow challengingly and it was Aro, Cia and Dora's turn to laugh. Caius' smirk grew.

"But sister, that is what brothers are supposed to do isn't it?" He asked innocently.

"Oh don't act all innocent Caius. That won't work on us because we all know that you are far from it." I said.

"You wound me with your cruel words dear sister." He said in mock surprise while the others were smiling at our playful banter.

"The 'dear sister' act won't work on me either brother, and if you don't hush you will be wounded for sure." I said and we were all silent for a moment and then burst into fits of laughter. The guard stood at the large doors with wide smiles and tried to contain their laughter. We finally calmed down and moved to more serious topics.

"That was refreshing. We haven't laughed like that in centuries." Caius stated and they all agreed.

"Yes well we need to address the issues at hand. The scouts have reported that there is major activity with the Romanians and they are gathering large numbers. We need to alert all of the covens loyal to us and have them here as reinforcements. I have already contacted the Cullens and the Denali's and they will be here in a matter of a few days. I called them in early and instructed the Major to alert his Captain and Lieutenant to join him. He said that he was ready to go." Aro informed us.

"Do we have an estimate at their numbers Aro?" I asked. I had a feeling that this wouldn't be an easy fight.

"It is hard to say Isabella but we have estimated somewhere around seventy- five to one hundred." He informed and I could feel my eyes widen at the revelation.

"Perhaps the Major and the Captain would assist is some training of the guard. I know that they are more than capable, but it certainly wouldn't hurt." I said. And Aro took on a thoughtful expression.

"I believe you may be right sister. We should approach the subject when they arrive." Aro said with a smile. "The brothers and I have decided that it would be best to postpone an announcement of your agreeance to rule with us as it might attract unwanted attention from the Romanians."

"I am inclined to agree. I never have liked parties and the last one that was thrown for me ended in disaster." I said and shivered at the human memory. Marcus sensed my discomfort and held me tighter.

"What do you mean?" Caius asked.

"Well when I turned 18, I begged that there would be no parties or gifts. I never did like the attention or gifts associated with the event. The Cullens of course threw a party for me at their home that night and it went to hell. I was with them at their home and when I started to open one of the gifts, under protest I might add, I received a cut from the paper. Normally that wouldn't be a problem but I was now bleeding in a room full of vampires and one happened to be an empath. Poor Jasper felt the bloodlust from the rest mixed with his own and I was Edward's singer." I heard the three brothers growl at the revelation. "Jasper lunged towards me and Edward threw me backwards into a table that happened to be covered in glass and crystal. I ended the night with Carlisle stitching up my mangled arm after he removed all of the shards of glass. I knew that Jasper felt guilt for his actions but I was never mad at him. I was however mad at Edward for making it considerably worse." I finished and I noticed that Marcus was purring trying to calm me.

"I can see where your aversion to attention has come from now sister." Caius commented solemnly.

"What I do not yet understand is why that single drop of blood caused such a problem since I had bled much more in their presence before?" I mused.

"What do you mean?" Marcus asked. I rubbed the crescent shaped scar that marred my wrist and sighed heavily. I heard a growl from Marcus as he noticed the scar.

"When did you get that?" Marcus asked.

"We were in the field playing baseball when we encountered three nomads. James, Victoria and Laurent. James was a tracker and he caught my scent. He made it into a game of cat and mouse. He tricked me into believing that he had my mother and I met him at a ballet studio I had once studied at in Pheonix. James apparently decided it was acceptable to play with his food, so instead of killing me right away, he broke my leg and caused other injuries. He threw me into a mirror and some of the glass cut the artery in my leg. If that wasn't enough he managed to bite me as well. The Cullens managed to destroy James and Edward sucked out the venom before it could spread. I was bleeding out at that point and I knew they were uncomfortable with that, but why was a single drop of blood more dangerous to my life with them than bleeding profusely on a ballet studio floor?" I finished. Marcus was still purring at me and I now realized that Cia and Dora held one of my hands in the theirs to comfort me.

"I really have no answer for that sister, but I do believe that it might have something to do with Edward being so attracted to your blood added to the fact that he might have not fed as recently as the previous occasion." Aro mused sadly.

"I have thought about those points but I really can't be sure. It doesn't matter now anyway seeing as there is no more blood in me for him to covet, besides that I belong to someone else." I stated and stole a glance towards my mate who greeted me with a full smile.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 9

Bella POV

It had been several days since our discussion of the Romanians in the throne room and we were expecting the Cullen's, Denali's and the major's captain and Lieutenant to arrive at any moment. Marcus and I were still in the bedroom and we untangled ourselves so that we could get ready to greet our guests. I had mixed feelings about seeing the Cullens again. I had never met the Denali clan but I had heard them mentioned in the Cullen home on occasion. Other clans and nomads were arriving in the next several days and Marcus said that this would be good practice for me for when the others started to arrive.

We showered and dressed quickly and headed down to the throne room where the Cullens would be arriving. I was admittedly a little nervous but I pushed that aside as best I could. Marcus and I walked hand in hand into the room where Aro and Sulpicia were already present. We took our positions and waited for Caius who was apparently not as punctual as I thought. Caius finally came in with Athenadora close to his side and I couldn't help it. My sarcastic and playful side slipped out.

"So nice of you to join us Caius. You know the saying, if you can't get here on time, get here when you can." I said and raised an eyebrow challengingly while Aro, Cia, Marcus and Dora laughed. Caius smirked like he wanted to laugh too but held it in.

"Well Isabella, you should know by now how little time means to us here. Besides Dora was late too." He reasoned. I laughed.

"Oh brother, do not blame Dora. Do you have a habit of throwing her under the bus to save you own ass? That's not a good idea you know, eternity is a long time to go without getting any." I reminded while we all laughed at his expression. Dora looked at Caius with false anger and played her part well.

"I am sorry for keeping you waiting sister. It won't happen again." He said and I smiled while the rest were trying to contain their laughter.

"Well see that it doesn't brother." I said regally and winked at him. It was silent for a second before we fell into a fit of laughter. We grew silent as we started to hear multiple footsteps approach the throne room and we composed ourselves. The doors flew open and I looked up to see the Cullens grouped together with Edward's mate, four female vampires with a male vampire whom I assumed were the Denali clan and what looked to be another mated pair. The male that stood with the Denali coven eyes me strangely which set me on edge.

"Bella?" I heard Edward whisper and I knew that the others were thinking the same.

"Welcome friends!" Aro exclaimed in his usual happy tone while I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Aro my friend it has been too long." Carlisle said and shifted his gaze to me. I suppose that it was interesting to see me perched in Marcus' lap but I couldn't care less what they thought.

"It has Carlise. Eleazar it has also been a long time since you have graced these halls." Aro said. "The Cullens know of our new addition but allow me to introduce Isabella to you. She is happily mated to our dear Marcus." He said and they all stood in shock with the exception of Alice and Edward who were here that day. I had explained it to them during my last visit to collect my belongings but apparently it didn't sink in.

"Aro it appears that I am no longer the only one of us that can shock vampires with their words." I said. "You are stealing a little of my thunder." I accused and he laughed while I could see Caius trying desperately to hide his smirk.

"Indeed, forgive me sister but I simply cannot let you have all of the fun." He said and I laughed. "Anyway you all know why you are here. Eleazar, I would like you to work your gift on Isabella if you don't mind. You might be interested in what you find." Aro asked and the Denali male who I had found was named Eleazar nodded. Marcus urged me to stand and I stepped forward towards the man. He gazed at me with scrutiny before his eyes lit in awe and amazement.

"She is intriguing. Isabella is a mental and physical shield, but also has a gift of tactical memory. She can simply watch an action or a fight and then perform those actions as she had done them for years. Her physical shield is interesting. It is also a formidable weapon in itself." Eleazar stated.

"How can her shield be a weapon?" Edward scoffed.

"She can crush someone to dust with her shield Edward." Eleazar explained. Edward didn't look convinced.

"Don't doubt my abilities Edward. Any one of the guard can vouch for my gifts, scared Angela almost to death when we had the red headed bitch's trial." I said and they looked at me strangely.

"If you can do that then why are we here?" Edward said angrily, already getting on my nerves.

"Edward for once in your miserable life, just shut up." I said getting irritated.

"Why you…" He wanted to say more but I held up my hand.

"Before you finish that sentence or that thought Edward, you might consider that I am mated to Marcus and also have been added as one of the rulers. You may continue but choose your words wisely." I said. He didn't continue. "Aro would you care to explain to them brother?" I asked.

"Of course sister." He said smiling as I rejoined Marcus. "You are all here because we have all been threatened. The Romanians have gathered an army of great numbers and there has already been an attempt on us and our mates. They have amassed close to one hundred and our scouts have reported they will move on us soon." He finished.

"Forgive me brother but I think that introductions are in order before we go any further." Marcus added.

"Yes, how silly of me. Isabella these are the Denali coven. This is Eleazar, his mate Carmen, Tanya, Kate and Irina. Those two there are Captain Peter Whitlock and Lieutenant Charlotte Whitlock." Aro said and I studied the two he had pointed out as Captain and Lieutenant. They stood out as the only human drinkers among them but they smiled warmly. I liked them both immediately. I looked over at Jasper to see that he looked sad and guilty. I stood and walked towards him. He looked up as I stood before him.

"Jasper, do not feel guilt over that night. You were bombarded by the bloodlust of several vampires and I was the singer to one of them. You couldn't have been prepared for that or have stopped it." His eyes had widened as I revealed I was Edwards singer. Edward looked furious and stood by his new mate, emitting a low growl.

"How did you figure that you were his singer?" Jasper asked.

"Think about it Jazz, he never wanted to change me, and claimed that intimacy with a human was too dangerous and made sure that there was very little chance that I would bleed around him. That first meeting in Biology where he looked as if he could slaughter a whole town was my first clue, but I didn't recall in until after you all left. He may have loved me to an extent, but his love was mostly for my blood." I paused to let my words sink in. "If we were mates as he had claimed, he would want me changed and have never been able to leave me as he did. Not that it matters now, since I found my mate and he found his." I finished and turned to Edward. "So will you be so kind as to introduce us to your mate?" She slunk behind him and seemed afraid of all the vampires around her.

"This is Bree, my mate," Edward stated sounding bored. I shot a look at Marcus quickly but smiled at the young vampire.

"Bree I understand that you were in Victoria's army, but do not worry. No one will harm you here. In fact there is someone here that you might be rather glad to see." I said. "Angela." I called and she was there in a flash with Alec at her side.

"Bree?" she exclaimed. Bree looked at her and her eyes lit up and pulled away from Edward. They hugged one another and I smiled. Edward just looked irritated but a small smile graced his lips as he looked at his mate who was extremely happy to see Angela again.

"You are all welcome to come and go as you please here but we would like for you all to agree to assist in this matter. It could cause risk of us being exposed to the humans thus involves all of us." Aro informed them. "Jasper and Peter, would you do us the profound honor of helping some of our guard to hone their fighting skills. I might add that you would be quite pleased with the progress of our dear Isabella." He finished and the whole room turned to me.

"Great brother. I beat Jane in a fight once and now I'm some pet project or something?" I exclaimed while the others laughed at my reaction. I didn't miss the fact Edward was shooting daggers at me with his eyes.

"Of course not Isabella, but we are proud of your accomplishments in such a short time here." Caius added.

"Anyway, we can discuss that later. I am sure that our guests would like to be shown their rooms and possibly hunt if needed. Don't you agree brother?" I said cocking an eyebrow at Aro.

"Of course, Jane, Alec, Angela and Demetri will direct you to your rooms and let you get settled. When some of the other guests have arrived, we will have our introductions and briefing on the matter at hand." Aro said and the guests were led out to their new accommodations for the next several days or so. I perched myself back on Marcus' lap and melted into his embrace. I didn't miss the daggers that Edward was shooting with his eyes at me.

"Marcus, what were Edward's bonds? Something is seriously off about him." I asked and he looked thoughtful for a moment.

"He is mated to the newborn, but he must still believe that you are mated to him as well. I don't believe that they are soul mates however. We will have to keep an eye on him." Marcus said.

"Is it possible to be mated to more than one person at the same time? It doesn't make sense." I said.

"I guess it would be possible, but I haven't seen it in my 3000 years." He mused. "Don't worry though, your bond to him was severed when you became fully mated to me." He said smiling and purred to me while running his fingers through my hair.

"I'm not worried. I don't want to be with him and nothing he can do will change that. I am where I belong." I said with conviction and he smiled. "I'm going to the training room for a little while." I said and kissed Marcus and turned to go. Cia and Dora decided to accompany me.

Jasper POV

When we were led into the throne room, I wasn't really surprised to see Bella sitting comfortably with Marcus. Something always told me that she and Edward were not mates and when she returned from Volterra the last time she told us that she and Marcus had some type of connection. Peter and Charlotte stayed close to us but I knew that most of the others didn't care for them being here. Emmet and Alice got along with them rather well but Edward was the worst. Bree was hardly allowed around the rest of us due to his possessive nature.

I was surprised when Bella told me that she knew she was Edwards singer. Before I couldn't place it but when she said that his possessiveness with her and refusal to change her made sense. I was glad to see that Bella was happy here and she seemed to brighten the mood of everyone she came in contact with. Even Caius was mildly pleasant to talk to this time. Marcus looked so much more alive and I could see the love he had for Bella shone in his eyes. Aro had also mentioned that Peter and I had the opportunity to assist in training of the guard and I was surprised that he mentioned that Bella was making such progress in her fighting skill. We were finally excused and shown to our rooms. Several minutes after we were left to our own things, Peter and Charlotte came to mine and Alice's room. He was smiling like the cat that ate the canary and I rolled my eyes at him. Something was up and he knew what it was.

"What is it Pete?" I asked.

"We need to go to the training room. I think we will be pleased with what we see there." He said grinning and we headed to the training room.

**Please R&R.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 10

Bella POV

Cia and Dora walked with me at a leisurely pace to the training room. We talked about random things as we walked and our conversations died as we entered the room. Jane and Alec were there sparring with one another and I smiled. Jane loved her brother and he was probably the only person she didn't try to use her gift on. They were evenly matched as far as sparing went and their gifts were equally as formidable. We started warm ups and Cia and Dora showed me several things by sparing with one another. I sparred with both women and even though they had years more experience, I managed to beat them.

Felix walked in during our spar session and he offered to spar with me. I agreed seeing as I didn't mind getting a little rougher with him than I had sparred with the wives. He dropped into his crouch and grinned. He must think that this is going to be easy. I smiled widely and dodged quickly as he lunged past my right side. He tried again and again as I dodged each move and always getting in a hit of my own. I had seen him spar with the others this way and it was the same pattern, easily avoided. He was getting frustrated and I laughed but decided to change it up a bit. I let him charge towards me and at the last possible second I jumped up, springing high in the air and flipped gracefully behind him, landing softly. Within that split second of my landing, I had him in a head lock and he growled while I laughed.

"Felix, you have to stop being so predictable. I saw the pattern you use while sparring and it was easy to dodge you. Hell you didn't get a hit on me." I said.

"You're just too damn fast for your own good." He said and I laughed.

"Felix, don't give me that shit. You fight newborns all the time and there is nothing special about my speed, admit it you are just damn predictable." I said and released him.

I looked up to see that Jasper and Peter were both standing there watching me and I smiled. I walked over to Jasper.

"Jazz will side with me Felix. Jasper tell him he is way too predictable." I said and he laughed.

"Felix, no offense but I saw the fight and if she can avoid you without receiving a hit for that long, you are predictable." Jasper said and Felix huffed while I laughed.

"Well Major, whatcha thinking?" I said in the poorest attempt at an accent. He smirked and I could tell he was trying to hold back a laugh.

"Well darlin' you are a good fighter for a newborn I'll admit, but you haven't fought someone like me or Peter here." He said.

"Okay, either of you two volunteering?" I asked. I turned to see someone else coming in the room, actually a lot of someones. The Cullens and the Denalis were all in the room along with Charlotte. Edward was there and held tightly to Bree as per usual. I really wanted to spar some more and I looked at the faces in the room. I smiled as I caught sight of my big teddy bear. He looked like he was 'dying' to fight someone.

"Hey Em, you wanna spar?" I said raising my eyebrows. He grinned widely and I knew I had him. He stepped out of Rosalie's arms and walked to me. He hugged me tightly and laughed.

"I'll try not to hurt you Bells." He said and this time I laughed. He pulled back and looked at me in question. I just shook my head and we walked to the sparring circle.

"Don't hold back Em." I said and I saw the others widen their eyes from their position in the room. I smiled and we crouched down into position. He was the first to lunge and I artfully dodged. He lunged again and I flipped over his head. He did manage to grab a hold of my ankle and I crashed to the floor, but sent out a sharp kick to his chest which sent him flying backwards into the far wall. He shook off the hit and lunged again and I sidestepped, sticking out my arm and gripped his throat, throwing him to the ground. I ended the fight with my teeth poised at his throat.

"You were holding back Em." I said smiling while he looked dumbfounded that he had lost. I released him from my hold and I felt another presence behind me. I turned to see Jasper coming for me and I dodged, but Emmet grabbed me from behind and held me in a head lock. I turned my shoulders hard, loosening his grip and kicked backwards into his knee, causing him to release me. I smiled as they both came for me and I slid artfully under Emmet's feet and stood quickly. Jasper looked at Emmet and Emmet stepped out of the fight. It was just me and Jazz now. He lunged towards me, going for my left side but switched to my right at the last second, punching me hard in the stomach and sending me back several feet. A feral growl let me know that Marcus was also watching the fight. Jasper ran towards me and I did the same to him. Seconds before impact, I slid gracefully under him and kicked his knees from under him. His back hit the floor hard and I was on him in a second. Holding his throat and teeth poised to kill. He was surprised that I had beaten him but he smiled widely.

I stood and held my hand out to help him up. He smiled and took it. I still felt the hit to my stomach sealing itself and I winced as I pulled him to his feet. He saw it of course and frowned.

"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't mean to hurt you." He said sadly.

"Jazz, it's fine. I'm just glad that someone around here fights without holding back too much." I said as Marcus came to my side with his brothers.

"Major, you had better be mindful that this is my mate and not to be damaged in any way." Marcus threatened.

"Calm down Marcus, he's actually the best sparring opponent I've had. At least he and Em are the only ones that have been able to get a hit in." I said.

"What about Felix? Weren't you fighting him earlier?" Aro asked.

"Yeah." I laughed. "He didn't get a hit in either and I told him he was too predictable." Aro laughed. I pushed my shield away and held out my hand for him. His eyes lit up and he took it. He was practically giddy by the end of my thoughts and pulled away smiling widely.

"How did you do that? I could hear you for a minute." Edward asked and I knew it was coming but I smiled politely.

"Since I woke up, I have all of my human memories although some are clearer than others. I can also push my mental shield away from my mind to allow access to gifts like Aro's" I explained.

"You are a fascinating creature Isabella and we are proud to call you sister." Aro said and then smiled. "Some training with the Major here and you will be unstoppable sister." I laughed.

"Aro you know as well as I do that there is no such thing as unstoppable in our world. Someone will always be faster, stronger, or more trained than someone else." I said and he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, are you guys going to train some or are you just here for the show?" I asked and they looked around uncomfortably. I rolled my eyes as Angela came in with Alec close to her side. Both were smiling widely as Felix trailed behind them with a defeated look on his face.

"Bella you've done it now. You beat poor Felix and now he won't stop sulking." Angela said as she hugged me tightly and I winced a little as I still hadn't fully healed from Jasper's hit.

"Cara, you aren't healing as fast as you should, perhaps you need to feed soon." He said and I smiled at him.

"Perhaps you are right, but I don't want to feed on innocents so I thought that a hunt might be in order." I had stopped feeding with the rest since I did feel guilt for killing innocents after several weeks into this life. Since I was stronger and more adequately trained now, I had the option of hunting for criminals. Angela often accompanied me and I noticed that her eyes were getting darker, indicating she was slightly thirsty. "Angela will go with me. Peter and Charlotte are of course welcome to go if they wish." I looked over to them and they nodded. Peter smiled widely and I wondered what his gift had told him.

"Very well cara. I will see you when you return. Be safe my love." Marcus said and kissed me on the lips.

"Always love." I replied and the four of us left the training room. We walked down the corridors to the secret entrance and I stepped into the small closet to the left and produced cloaks for each of us.

"Ready?" I asked and they nodded. We left through the door and ran swiftly towards Rome. Volterra was too small to hunt in and the law prevented us from hunting there. Once we were in the scourges of the city, I opened my instincts to the hunt. We found a group of drug dealers just as the sun retreated beyond the horizon and I smiled at the group that had come to hunt with me. I approached the men as the others hung back for a moment.

"Hello?" I called as if I were some lost tourist. I smiled internally as I heard them whisper to one another. They had been in the open so I was to draw them to the alley where the others waited. "Is anyone there?" I called. My acting skills had surely improved with my change. I heard the four men walking around the corner and they smiled at me. My eyes widened in mock fear and their smiles grew.

"What is a beautiful lady such as yourself doing out in this part of town?" One said and I stuttered for full effect.

"I- I got lost. I'm not- not familiar with the area." I said and I could hear my three companions snickering close by too low for the humans to hear.

"Boys it looks like we have a lost lamb in our midst. You're American right?" Another asked and I nodded shyly. I started to back away as if I were afraid, towards the alley. One tried to advance on me as I thought they would and I turned to run into the alley. Naturally the pervs followed and met a quick end. Once we finished with our meal, we disposed of the bodies and headed back towards Volterra. Peter was smiling widely and I looked at him in question.

"You are quite the actress Bella." He said smiling and I giggled along with Angela. I felt a prickling on the back of my neck that usually tells me there are unknown vampires around. I stopped and Peter looked at me in confusion until the breeze shifted and he caught the scent of other vampires as the rest of us did.

"Ange, stay close to me and do exactly as I tell you." I told her and she nodded. "Peter, do you recognize any of the scents?" I asked and he shook his head. We were in a secluded area and there were no humans for miles. The vampires were approaching fast and we stood our ground. It would do no good to lead the right back to Volterra, especially if they are hostile towards us. I displayed my crest proudly. I hadn't been formally entered into the Volturi by ceremony, but I was still part of them. The vampires stepped from the trees and into the open. There were six vampires and it was odd to see them travel in such large numbers. I stepped forward and stood beside Peter with Charlotte on his right. Angela was directly behind me as I spoke.

"Who are you?" I said in a strong voice. There were men and three women in the group. One man looked slightly older and seemed to be a little flighty and nervous. Beside him was a red headed woman who looked of Irish Decent. A tall man stepped forward and begun to speak.

"My name is Liam. We mean you no ill will. We were summoned to Volterra for what I'm not sure but as allies we answered the call." He said and I relaxed slightly. He had apparently seen the crest I wore.

"Perhaps introductions are in order then?" I asked.

"Of course, three that you see are nomads mostly. Charles and his mate Makenna, and Alistair who has recently found his mate in my coven. This is Sibohan, my mate and Alistair is mated to Maggie here." He said pointing out each one. "Now could you introduce yourselves?" I smiled politely.

"Alright, the mated pair here are Peter and Charlotte Whitlock. The newborn behind me is Angela Weber, mated to a Volturi guard. My name is Isabella Swan, mated to Marcus Volturi." I said and they gasped in surprise. We were hunting and headed back to Volterra. I know why you were summoned and all will be explained once you arrive. You are welcome to travel with us if you wish." I said.

"It would be our pleasure madam." Liam said and I smiled.

"Very well, we should go since Angela's mate and my own are probably starting to worry." I said smiling. They nodded and we took off towards Volterra. I led our now large group into the castle where Jane was waiting for our return.

"Jane, please inform the brothers that guests have arrived and I will see them to the throne room. Please remind them that Sulpicia and Athenadora are to also be present." I requested.

"Yes Mistress." Jane said and hurried off while I led the group to the throne room."

"Forgive me dear, but why are the wives involved in this meeting? I mean no disrespect, but it is rather unconventional." Liam asked.

"Of course, part of the reason that you and others are here is because there have been attempts on the Volturi and the wives. The culprits were disposed of but their leaders have more planned that would cause problems for all of our kind. The brothers will answer more in depth in a moment." I said and smiled at Felix as he opened the doors to the throne room widely for us to enter. Inside the brothers were gathered with their wives and the guard. Alec spotted Angela and stepped to greet her. The Cullens were situated to the left of the room and Peter and Charlotte veered off to stand beside Jasper. The Denalis were also there and they all, save Edward, gave a bow of their heads as I passed. Carlisle widened his eyes as the six vampires behind me came into view and I walked to the center of the room and stepped up on the dais where Marcus waited with open arms.

"Friends, welcome. I trust that our dear Isabella has given you an idea of why you were requested here?" Aro said in his overly happy voice and I held back a groan at his antics. Marcus hugged me tightly to him and I melted to his touch. Aro stood from his seat and approached the group. "Alistair, it seems that you have finally found your happiness. Congratulations." Alistair nodded nervously. "You have been called here to assist all of our kind. The Romanians are on the rise again and have amassed a large army. The Romanians would singlehandedly expose us to the humans so you see our dilemma. Recently the castle was attacked by a small number in an attempt to weaken us before the army strikes. We have asked for your help to fight off the surge of vampires that would overtake us all." Aro finished.

"I see." Liam said thoughtfully. "It would be a disaster for the Romanians to come to power again so my family will fight alongside you. Alistair has just recently joined us so I will leave that up to him as he was a nomad for so long. Charles and Makenna are also not bound by my decision." Liam stated.

"We will also fight with you if necessary. Of course we hope that it would not come to that." Charles stated and Aro nodded and looked to Alistair. Alistair looked so nervous and looked like he would bolt at the first given opportunity. Everyone was looking to him and I could see this added pressure to him.

"Brother, give him some room and some time to think this over. All of us staring at him isn't going to make him agree or be more comfortable." I said and Alistair sent me a quick grateful look.

"You are right sister. Please take your time. We will have rooms prepared for all of you." Aro informed. I stood and walked to Aro. Alistair looked like a frightened mouse awaiting death from a farmhouse cat.

"Alistair, if you would feel more comfortable, you are welcome to a more secluded room here or you have the option of taking your mate somewhere else close by." I stated and he looked relieved and I looked at him and his mate. "We want you to feel comfortable as possible. No one here will harm you or your mate, or force you to stay. It is your choice." I said. He looked into my eyes and for the first time since I met him, he smiled.

"Thank you Miss Isabella. I believe that it would be acceptable here, so long as we are roomed closely with Carlisle." He said and I smiled. I looked over to the Cullens and they all smiled widely at me.

"Very well, if you find this unacceptable at any time, please find me and we will make other accommodations for you and your mate." I said and he nodded. I turned towards Heidi.

"Heidi, there are rooms to the left of Carlisle and Esme. Please have them prepared for our guests." I said and she nodded and scurried off to do as ordered. I turned back to see Aro with a dumbfounded expression. "What's wrong Brother?" I asked him.

"Nothing dear sister." He said looking saddened that I took charge.

"Don't look so deflated brother. You were doing fine on your own but since you have now feelings you tend to forget that others do." I said smirking. I heard snickers throughout the room and Aro scowled playfully at me. "Seriously brother, some things merely require a woman's touch." I said placing a hand on his shoulder. Everyone relaxed and began to talk casually. Most were asking questions about me and how I came to meet Marcus. Rosalie asked something I wasn't prepared for.

"Bella, what happened after we left?" She asked and I told her about how much I missed them and my depression.

"I went to the meadow where Edward and I had been many times. I was sitting there reminiscing when I caught sight of someone. It was a human drinking vampire, one we met during the baseball game. Laurant had come back as a favor to Victoria. He was just about to kill me when Jacob and the pack showed up and killed him." I said and Irina's head snapped up to glare at me.

"What?" She screeched in outrage. I was confused as to her reaction. "You are the reason my mate never returned to me. Besides that, he wasn't a human drinker seeing as he was with us for months and he partook in our diet"

"First off, he was about to kill me. Second, if he was your mate as you claim, he would have been with you. I know how painful it is to be away from my mate and no one could stand that for long. Thirdly, I saw his eyes and I know he was a human drinker. He may have adopted your diet for a time, but his eyes were red when I encountered him. I am sorry that your friend died, but if he had stayed with you he might still be alive." I said and she lunged towards me and I wrapped her in my shield. She screamed in rage.

"Silence!" I ordered and I saw the people in the room flinch. "Irina, I will say this once and only once. Come against me or any of my family and I will end you. I can see that your family would be devastated by the loss, so I give you this one, and I mean one, chance. Don't make me regret my generosity." I said and turned to Eleazar. "Eleazar, you best take charge of your coven or you may find you are one short. I have already had to deal with one bitch who blamed me for her mate's death unfairly and I won't hesitate to take action if she becomes a problem, understood?" I said and he nodded.

"Yes Mistress. I thank you for your consideration." Eleazar said and bowed his head low. I released my shield and he drug her away to her sisters. I continued my story as they listened intently. I kept a close watch on Irina who was being consoled by her sisters. I did feel sorrow for her but at the same time, it was him or me that day.

"Jasper, how did training go after I left to hunt?" I asked with a smile and he grinned.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 11

Jasper POV

I was amazed with Bella and her fighting skills and after she left the training room, the others looked after her in wonder. Being awakened to our world had brought her the best of both worlds. She was still the kind, funny and sarcastic woman that we knew, with the added backbone that she needed to protect herself and those she loved. However as Edward watched her leave, I feared that she would have trouble with him still. Edward has never been content to be denied what he wanted and although he had his mate beside him, it seemed that he still held ill will towards Bella for the choices that she had made.

I ran the others through some fighting skills and they did fairly well. Felix had finally recovered from his little funk that he had been in since his fight with Isabella and the brothers watched carefully to monitor the progress. I still had some trouble believing that Bella had beaten me in a sparring session. She was formidable but the only way to know that she was fully ready for the fight would be to let the Major out and have him take over and spar with her. I decided against that at least for now. Too much had occurred for her in the last few days and she was managing well but I didn't want to add something else to her already taxed schedule.

Several hours later, Jane entered and told the masters that Bella had arrived with some of the guests that were summoned here and they were headed to the throne room. We were all asked to follow and we followed behind Marcus as Caius and Aro left to quickly retrieve their wives. We entered the throne room just minutes before Bella arrived with several vampires that I recognized from my time with Carlisle. I was surprised to see Alistair huddled in the mix but I noticed how closely he clung to Maggie from the Irish coven. Alistair appeared to have finally found his mate and I smiled at the thought.

After Aro explained the reason for our summons here, Alistair began to get more nervous as all the attention was drawn to him. The family looked on with proud smiles as Bella took charge of the situation and made him feel welcomed and comfortable, giving him the options he needed to feel more relaxed. After that we started to talk with one another. Rosalie asked about the events that took place while we were away and as she talked about Laurant's demise I saw Irina's head snap up and she lunged at Bella. Bella wrapped her in her shield and spoke like a true Queen. We flinched due to the power of her order and her words were spoken with authority as she spoke to Irina and Eleazar. She calmed the tension in the room and continued her story but kept an eye on Irina. Bella smiled and asked me about the training and I grinned.

"Things are going well, perhaps Felix might get a hit the next time you two spar, but from what I witnessed from you earlier, I kind of doubt it." I said and she laughed while Felix groaned.

Bella POV

We ended our talks shortly after that and Marcus and I retired to our rooms. We were stopped short by Alistair and Maggie standing close with Carlisle and Esme.

"Carlisle, Esme" I greeted and turned to the other pair. "Alistair, Maggie, Forgive my overactive brother for causing you any discomfort earlier. He doesn't take many other's feelings into account often but he is getting better at it with my help." I smiled.

"Quite alright my dear, Maggie and I were just catching up with Carlisle and Esme. Being a nomad for so long, it has been difficult to adjust to being around others. I thank you for your help and you have proven to be a fantastic queen already." Alistair said and I smiled.

"I do understand why you are comfortable around these two. They are like parents to me and have been since before my change." I said smiling to Carlisle and Esme. "Take care. Marcus and I are heading for a little private time. We will see you all later." I hugged Carlisle and Esme tightly and took Marcus' hand. We headed towards our room and I lay sprawled on the bed like I was exhausted. I still wasn't used to the whole idea of needing no sleep but I did manage to fill that time with other things. Reading had filled some of my time but most of it was filled by Marcus. We stayed hold up in the room for the remainder of the day and we definitely used the time to our advantage. I wished that this time would never end for us but we had things to do unfortunately. The following morning we showered and dressed to meet the new arrivals in the throne room. Marcus took my hand as we left the room and we strolled toward the throne room. The Egyptian coven was to be here today, along with the Amazon women. The Russians and several other covens were arriving later today as well. We walked in and greeted the brothers and their wives as the other covens arrived in the room. I looked to see that Alistair was near Carlisle with his mate Maggie and her coven. I squeezed Marcus' hand and walked over to them. I didn't fail to notice that Edward was still glaring holes in my forehead. I mentally rolled my eyes and smiled as I approached Carlisle and Alistair. They turned to my approach and smiled in return.

"Alistair, still comfortable with your accommodations are we?" I asked and he smiled.

"Yes thank you Miss Isabella." He said.

"Please, in informal settings call me Bella if you will." I said politely and he nodded. Carlisle smiled at me as well as Esme. "Any friend of Carlisle is a friend of mine."

"Of course Bella." Alistair said and Maggie smiled. I heard footsteps outside the throne room and I excused myself politely to go to Marcus. Minutes later the throne room doors opened and four vampires walked in escorted by Jane and Alec. Aro stood and clapped his hands happily as I resisted an eye roll. I didn't miss the glares coming from Edward but I put that out of my mind and focused on the task at hand.

"Welcome friends. I understand that you might be confused by several things. First, I would like to introduce you to our new queen, Miss Isabella Swan. Our dear Marcus has found love again. Secondly our mates, who aren't normally present are here with us for their safety as there has been an attempt on their lives. Now the reason that you are here is that the Romanians are poised to attack us all with an army of close to one hundred. They could singlehandedly expose all of our kind and we must remedy the situation. We have summoned you here to ask that you fight with us to eliminate the threat of exposure." Aro said.

"Brother, they know who I am but I am afraid I can't say the same. Would you kindly introduce us?" I asked.

"How silly of me. Of course sister." Aro said. "Amun, will you introduce your coven?" Aro asked the tall man I assumed was their leader. I stood and approached Aro's side.

"Certainly Aro. I am Amun and this is my beautiful mate Kebi. This is Benjamin and Tia." Amun said indicating each member of his family.

"This must be the Egyptian coven." I mused aloud and Amun nodded with a smile.

"Yes, you are familiar with Egyptian culture?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yes slightly. I always wanted to visit Egypt. I find other cultures fascinating, although Egyptian gods were what most of my studies entailed." I said and he smiled widely. I heard an annoyed groan from Edward and my head whipped in his direction. "Problem Edward?" I asked.

"Not at all." He said through clenched teeth.

"Then shut it or I will shut it for you. Are we clear?" I said and he nodded. I turned back to Amun. "Sorry about that, some have no manners at all." I said.

"Quiet alright." He said smiling at me.

"Now since I have been introduced properly, you may continue brother." I said smiling turning to Aro.

"Thank you for your permission sister." He said and I playfully punched his shoulder and he rubbed it in mock hurt. Most were amazed how relaxed the brothers are now and the Egyptians didn't disappoint in their shocked reaction. I almost laughed at the shocked expressions. "Now for more serious matters, I explained why you were summoned here and we ask for your assistance. Take your time of course but we will need an answer soon." Aro said.

"No need for waiting Aro. We figured that being summoned here was the result of something drastic. We agreed that if it were worthy of a fight then we would agree to assist. We will stand with you against the Romanians." Amun said proudly.

"Wonderful, rooms will be prepared for you immediately. Please make yourselves at home here. Major Jasper Whitlock Cullen, Peter Whitlock and Charlotte Whitlock are helping to train some of the guard and others for the fight if you care to join them." Aro stated and Amun nodded. Aro held out his hand to Amun who took it reluctantly. Aro's eyes widened slightly and turned to Benjamin. "You have a very gifted young vampire in your midst Amun, you must be proud."

"I am." Amun stated somewhat defensively.

"Amun I understand your reluctance to the question, but don't worry. He will not pursue Benjamin for entry to the guard whatever his gift. He has been spoiled with too many gifts already and I won't allow it." I said and Aro shot me a look but I just smiled. "Out of curiosity though, what is his gift?" I asked.

"I can control elements such as fire and water." Benjamin announced and I smiled.

"Well perhaps you wouldn't mind assisting me with my shield. No fire throwing though since that would definitely be dangerous." I said smiling. Benjamin smiled and nodded.

"I would be honored." Benjamin said. And I nodded.

"Isabella is quite right however about my pursuit of gifts. All those that fight with us are well within their rights to leave at any time." Aro said. "Heidi, please see that their rooms are ready and they are settled in." Aro ordered. "You are all dismissed."

"Aro I would like to speak to Edward for a moment if he agrees." I said and Edward nodded reluctantly. Everyone else left but Edward. Edward approached the center of the room.

"Edward, what is your problem? You have glared holes at me since you got here and I don't understand. You have your mate and I have mine so what gives?" I asked.

"You are my true mate. I love Bree but I will always love you more." He said and I groaned.

"Listen closely Edward because I won't give you another chance to heed my words. I love Marcus mind, body and soul. I will not ever be yours. I will always belong to Marcus and you have to accept that. I loved you once, I did. I do not love you anymore and I won't tolerate the treatment I have been getting from you since you got here. I know you don't want to be here and no one is keeping you here. Don't like seeing me with Marcus, then leave." I said.

"I will make you love me again." He said.

"Are you seriously mental Edward? I. DON'T. WANT. YOU! Be with Bree and be happy." I said and walked past him to leave the room and he grabbed for my arm and I threw him into the wall. "Don't touch me ever again. Last warning Edward." I left the room leaving him to pick himself up off the floor and I ran smack into Caius.

"Dammit Caius, what the hell?" I said and he smirked.

"Just listening to you putting Cullen in his place sister." He said and I groaned. I pushed past him to Carlisle's room and knocked lightly. Esme answered the door and I was surprised to see Alice there with Jasper, Emmet and Rosalie.

"I take it you didn't invite Edward to this meeting?" I questioned with a smile.

"No Bella. I saw the unnatural obsession he has with you. I called the meeting to discuss what to do about him. I don't understand it at all." Carlisle said and I sighed.

"Me neither. I mean I have Marcus and he has found Bree. Why would he still want me when I have plainly made it crystal clear I don't want to be with him?" I asked and I sighed. I stood to leave the room. "I need to talk to Marcus about this. I will let him know I gave fair warning and that is all I can do. If he tries something foolish, it it's out of our hands you know." I said and they all nodded.

"We know Bella. We are sorry that he is causing trouble and we understand the consequences if he goes too far." Carlisle said and I hugged all of them and left the room to find Marcus. I walked back to our room and found him in the study just off the bedroom with his brothers. I groaned in frustration and walked inside the room.

"Sister, Caius mentioned that you were having some issues with a certain Cullen?" Aro said and Marcus growled.

"I took care of it for now. I fear that he will continue his obsession but we will have to wait and see." I said and allowed Aro to see the memory of the confrontation with Edward. He looked up at me concerned and I rolled my eyes. "I am fine brother. He won't stand a chance if he picks a fight with me and you know that," I said and melted into Marcus' lap. Marcus kissed me deeply and I sighed in contentment.

"Young Cullen is pushing away Bree from him. He wants her but he wants you also, both of you as mates. He has to let you go in order to fully be mated to Bree and he won't do that. I fear Cullen will be a major problem." Marcus added.

"Could we please talk about something else?" I said. "I have had enough talk of Edward and his stalkerish qualities to last the rest of my existence." I finished with a groan. We talked until it was time to re-enter the throne room to greet more guests and soon the castle was full of visiting clans. Everyone we had summoned was finally here and Jasper and Peter began training the others. I was doing well with the training but I thanked my tactical memory for that.

We were training again today and I walked down the corridor with Marcus towards the training area. Eleazar and Benjamin had helped tremendously with my shield and we decided that I would work on physical fighting today. I watched closely as the others traded blows and dodged blows. Marcus wrapped his arms around me and I leaned my head back into his chest. Several minutes later Peter came up to us with Charlotte and greeted us warmly. I liked these two very much and we had grown closer over their time here. I happened to notice that Edward was keeping close to Bree who still looked terrified at all of the others around her. Angela tried to comfort her often but Edward maintained his possessiveness towards her.

Jasper paused in his teachings to have one on one sparring sessions and called two to spar. I heard one arrogant vampire scoff and complain.

"Why are we busting our asses to train when our so called rulers are over there just watching the show?" He said and Jasper started to reply but I stopped him.

"It's alright Jazz, he will learn very soon that I'm trained enough even as a newborn to hold my own against him." I said and turned to the vampire. "What is your name?" I asked.

"Garret. I'm a nomad from the states." He said.

"Well Garret, show me what you've got." I said and walked to the circle for sparring. I crouched as soon as he entered the circle and he mirrored it. Jasper was smiling widely since he knew what was about to happen. "No gifts are to be used in this session. Oh, and don't hold back." I said and he smiled like he had already won. He lunged forward and I dodged at the last possible second. I did this several times and he lunged again as I slid under him and kicked the back of his knees. He landed on his ass and I was poised with my teeth at his throat before he knew it. I smiled and stood, turned to walk away, knowing that he would try to attack me from behind. I concentrated to find the sounds behind me and I heard him coming and turned on him. My hand wrapped around his throat with ease and I lifted him off the ground and threw him to the opposite wall of the training room. He recovered with a growl and I simply smiled.

"Stop the fancy stuff and fight me dammit." He yelled and I smiled wider.

"I am fighting you Garret. Not my fault you can't get a hit in on me. Half of the idea of fighting is keeping from getting hit in the first place. You protect yourself from hits while causing damage to your opponent." I shrugged while I heard others stifle laughter. He growled and lunged at me. I dodged, sending a hard hit to his chest and I heard the tell tale cracking sound. He stumbled but managed to grab my arm and twist it hard and I felt my skin crack. I leaned my body back and sent a kick to his knee, causing him to release me. He fell back but recovered quickly. I jumped as he lunged flipping my body midair and landed on his back. I had my arm around his neck and my teeth poised at his neck.

"Come on Garret. I beat Mr. Major over there the first day, so what chance did you think you had?" I whispered in his ear and he nodded, giving in. I released him and looked at everyone else in the room who looked either proud, scared or in awe of my skills. I noticed something as I looked towards the Cullens. Alice was in a vision and I went to her, alerting the family to the fact she was seeing something.

"Alice?" I asked once she snapped out of the vision.

"They're coming." Was all she said and I knew who she was talking about.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 12

Bella POV

"Everyone go to the throne room now. Marcus and I will get our brothers. Felix, Demetri, make sure that everyone gets there and maintain order until we get there." They nodded and went about their task.

"Aro and Caius will be in the tower with Cia and Dora." Marcus informed and we ran to the tower. I knew they were spending 'quality' time with the wives but this was urgent.

"Get Aro and I will get Caius." I said and he rushed down the hall to Aro. I knocked frantically on the door before me and Cauis opened it with a growl. "Sorry brother, but we are all needed in the throne room now." I said and he softened a little bit more. "Nice shirt by the way." I said with a snicker. He looked down to notice that he was shirtless and growled in frustration. "Seriously though, Marcus went to retrieve Aro and Cia so you two need to get dressed and hurry to the throne room.

"What is the problem sister?" He asked concerned. Dora came to his side dressed far more than Caius.

"They're coming." I said using the same phrase Alice did. Caius cursed under his breath and shut the door quickly to get dressed. Aro was coming down the hall with Marcus and Cia.

"They're getting dressed and will be out in a minute." I told them and they nodded. Caius and Dora exited the room and we all ran quickly to the throne room. We entered and took our positions quickly.

"Alice, please tell us what you saw?" I said and she smiled grimly. She walked forward and placed her hand in Aro's who after a minute cursed in Latin.

"They are coming and will be here by nightfall tomorrow. I don't know how they concealed it for so long." She said.

"Major, do you have any ideas of preparing a defense of the castle?" Aro asked. Jazz started to speak but I interrupted.

"Aro if they reach the castle, we are exposing ourselves to the humans. Win or lose we will be exposed." I said and their eyes widened. I thought of something. "Zafrina, you can project images correct?" I asked and she nodded. "Can you project memories from others?" I asked.

"I have never tried but I can access memories of others and use them against my opponents." She said and I smiled.

"Alice, if you can give her access to the vision, she could project it for all of us to see. We all need to see what you saw to get a better idea of what we are dealing with." Alice nodded and Zafrina took the vision and projected it through the room for all to see. It was going to be a hard fight but I noticed it wasn't at the castle.

"Brothers do you recognize the place in the vision?" I asked and Caius nodded with his usual scowl.

"It's several miles out of Volterra in the hills. We should intercept them there." Caius stated.

"I agree." Jasper said.

"Could anyone tell how many they had?" I asked.

"They have about a hundred, mostly newborns. It won't be easy, but we should be able to pull it off." Jasper said wrapping one arm around Alice.

"Does anyone have any ideas?" Aro said and I thought for a minute and smiled widely. Aro noticed this of course. "What are you smiling about Isabella?"

"Benjamin." I called and he stepped forward. "You control the elements, correct?" he nodded. "How far does your gift reach?" I asked. He smiled seeming to guess where I was going with this.

"I have never gauged it but it will reach quite a long way." He said.

I thought for a moment. If we could get them all centered together with my shield, then Benjamin would be able to deplete their numbers by fire, evening the odds a little before we even started. I walked to Aro and removed my mental shield to give him access to what I thought. He smiled widely and nodded. We had a plan.

Edward POV

Bella was a vision as she fought in training, making me proud to be her mate. I was fortunate to have Bree and Bella, although Bella was under the delusion that Marcus was her mate. She said she didn't want me but I knew that she just said that to keep up appearances. War with the Romanians was upon us and I worried that we would be separated by death. As we were dismissed from the throne room I left the castle to hunt alone. Bree wanted to go with me but I refused her. What I was about to do wouldn't be something I wanted her involved in. I ran faster than I could ever remember going towards the border of Romania when I started to hear thoughts of several vampires. I slowed and went calmly towards the thoughts until I came to an encampment.

"Who are you?" One of the vampires asked.

"Someone that has information your leaders would want. I wish to speak with Stephan and Vladimir." I said.

"What is it that you wish to speak to us about boy?" Another figure asked, one I recognized as Vladimir.

"I wish to speak to you about your plans to attack the Volturi. I have information that you would need." I said firmly.

"Ah, so tell me boy, what is the price of this information? Certainly you didn't come to us out of the goodness of your dead heart." Vladimir said and Stefan joined him by his side.

"Marcus Volturi has taken my mate as his own. I only wish to get her back and the information is yours."

"Interesting." Vladimir said. "Come boy, we have much to discuss." He said and I followed them into the camp. Bella will be mine once more.

Bella POV

Jasper, Peter and I stayed with Aro, Caius and Marcus as we planned our defense. The rest were dismissed to their own things while we planned and plotted. Once we had a plausible course of action, I felt a sense of dread set over me. I didn't know why or what but something was definitely off. I was walking to Carlisle's room for a quick visit when I heard sobbing inside the room. I knocked lightly and Carlisle answered with a pained smile.

"What's wrong Carlisle?" I asked.

"Bree came in after we were dismissed from the throne room. Edward left to hunt and wouldn't let her go with him." He said and sighed. "Bree said that he was lying to her and he didn't go hunting."

"How long has Edward been gone?" I asked.

"About three hours now." He answered.

"Something is off about this and I have a very bad feeling." I said and I heard Alice gasp. Her eyes were glossed over as they did when she was having a vision.

"Edward you stupid, idiotic fool. What have you done?" she muttered. She came out of the vision and started to sob right along with Bree.

"Emmet, Carlisle. Go and get Aro and Marcus and bring them here now. Tell them I sent you cause I have a feeling we have a very big problem." They nodded and rushed off to retrieve them. "Rosalie, will you get Angela to come here please. Bree might be more comfortable with her here." She nodded and took off to get Angela. I knelt in front of Alice who was being held by Jasper and Esme was consoling Bree. "Alice can you tell me what you saw?" I asked softly and she looked into my eyes.

"Edward went to the Romanians." She sobbed. "He joined forces with them to get you from Marcus." I felt my dead heart drop. Edward was certifiably insane. Why he still insisted I was his mate was beyond me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see that Aro and Marcus had arrived. Aro touched Alice's hand and growled, causing Bree to jump slightly.

"Brother, be calm. Young Bree has been harmed enough by Edward's actions already." I said and he nodded. "Angela, could you and Esme take Bree to your room and calm her? We have to get to the bottom of all this." Angela and Esme nodded and left the room with a broken looking Bree. Once they left I sighed and melted into Marcus. Too much has been going on lately and it all seemed to revolve around me.

"Bree's bond to him has broken with his betrayal. It wasn't the true soul mate bond, so she will recover. All bonds that anyone had to Edward have been severed now and he is truly alone." Marcus added.

"Why in the hell did he go to the Romanians?" I said in frustration. "I thought he was crazy before he is definitely mental now… and why the Romanians? Doesn't he know they would just assume kill him as to help him." I ranted and Marcus pulled me tighter and purred loudly trying to calm me.

"We act as if nothing has changed. No doubt he has told them about the parts of the plan he knows. If he comes back here, he will face trial and die by our hands." Aro said and I agreed. I couldn't be soft now. I stayed with the Cullens for a little longer and Marcus and Aro left reluctantly to discuss the events with Caius and alert the guard. I felt drained and weak and I knew I needed to hunt but would definitely not go alone. I left the Cullens and went to Peter and Charlotte to ask them if they would hunt with me. They agreed but seemed wary. Peter must have seen something so I let him lead the way this time.

We made our way to the slums of Rome and fed quickly. I didn't want to be gone too long with the battle on the way and Peter agreed. We were headed back home when I felt the prickling on the back of my neck again and I doubted this encounter would be friendly. I looked over to Peter and stopped. He knew what I sensed and I held my finger to my lips to keep him and Char quiet. I wrapped my mental and physical shield around all of us and we took off running back to Volterra. I had learned that my shield could cover our scents so I decided that was a better option that trying to fight. I chanced a look back and saw three figures in the edge of the street light. One I recognized as Edward and the other two looked very old. I assumed Aro would know and I continued with Peter and Charlotte back to the castle with both shields tightly in place. We entered the castle to be greeted by Felix who smiled, but his smile died once he saw the serious look on my face.

"Felix, get the brothers and have them go to the throne room with Sulpcia and Athenadora right now." I ordered.

"Yes Mistress." He said and he was gone. I turned to Peter and Charlotte.

"You two come with me." I said and they nodded and we walked quickly to the throne room. I pushed the doors open and was relieved when the brothers were all there already. Felix stood off to the side looking slightly concerned, obviously noticing my foul mood.

"What has you in such a foul disposition sister?" Aro asked and I moved my shield to show him. His smile fell with a hiss and he growled. "You did the right thing sister." He said and turned to Caius and Marcus. "It appears that Edward has been spotted with the two Romanian leaders." He said and growls erupted as Marcus held me tighter.

"They are closer than we thought." I mentioned and they froze in realization. "We need to see if Alice has seen anything on this and alert the Major. I think we should also be prepared to meet in battle ahead of schedule since Edward has undoubtedly told them that we have a seer amongst other talents." I said and they agreed. "Peter, get Jazz and fill him in but don't worry the others quite yet, we need his opinion and any information Alice has before we act." He nodded and ran out the door. I looked to see that Cia and Dora looked slightly afraid of this turn of events.

"Don't worry sisters, we will beat them. I just know it. I'm not sure how I do, but I just do." I said and I knew they were not convinced. I started to feel the familiar prickle on the back of my neck and I stiffened while Marcus looked at me worriedly. I looked at my new family and shut my eyes tightly for a second then directed my words to them. "You all trust me right?" I asked.

"Of course we do cara." Marcus said.

"Of course sister." The others said and I stood.

"We need to prepare for battle right now. They won't wait until tomorrow. I don't know how but I just know." I said and Alice came in with Peter and Jazz looking frantic.

"They are coming now." Alice said and I looked at the brothers who sat there wide eyes and Aro barked orders at the guard and had everyone brought to the throne room for departure. Once everyone was in the room Aro started to speak but I noticed that there were several vampires I didn't know and hadn't met. Considering I was introduce to all of them this sent up red flags.

"Aro." I said and put my hand out to him removing my shield for him to see. Immediately after I showed him, the unknown vampires rushed the dais. I didn't have time to put my shield up so I dodged and kicked the first one in the chest. He was sent flying into the crowd of the others and they managed to hold him while the others were subdued. One managed to get a hit, sending me flying head first into the marble wall behind the dais. I stood shakily and I could feel the cracks in my skin. Finally all of the five were subdued and Aro started to order their deaths but I stopped him.

"Get their thoughts and leave them to me." I told him and smiled cruelly. I didn't know where this was coming from but Jasper's eyes widened.

"Isabella?" He asked. I wanted to scream to my brother that I was trapped inside but I couldn't. Jasper noticed and warned them.

"Aro, don't question her right now. This isn't exactly Bella, but something darker." Jasper said and I smirked widely. I was trying to fight my way to the surface but I couldn't. Whatever this was had a much stronger hold at the moment. Aro nodded and touched each of the intruders and I wrapped my shield around all of the intruders as those that held them stepped back.

"Who are you?" one asked and I could feel the smirk on my face.

"Your worst nightmare, or I would be if our kind slept." I said darkly and my shield tightened slowly and they were forced closer together in a huddle. "I am Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, balance, righteous indignation and retribution." I heard myself say but didn't seem to have control of myself. I heard gasps throughout the room. I looked over to Jasper and smirked. "Well if it isn't the God of war himself." All this time, my shield was slowly closing and crushing the five inside it. "Do not fear, Isabella will be with you as soon as I'm finished here." Wait a minute, what the hell is going on here? The shield flexed tighter and the five vampires were reduced to dust in an instant and I watched as my hand went forward and she/I opened my hand and the dust was in flames in the marble floor. The next thing I knew I was feeling myself fall towards the floor as Nemesis retreated.

Jasper POV

The Romanians were coming fast and we were in the throne room after Bella returned. Aro ordered everyone into the throne room and that was when all hell broke loose. Five unknown vampires rushed the dais and Bella was unable to get her shield up in time. She fought with the grace and skill of an ancient, but I watched in horror as one sent her flying into the marble wall. She stood shakily and then her whole demeanor changed. I knew that look that she had. It was the same one I had whenever I let the Major take over. This was something much more powerful though. I warned Aro to not question her and just do as she said. She smirked, exuding power and authority of a Goddess and I wondered who had taken over her body. My question was answered soon after. Shit the goddess Nemesis was here and it wouldn't be a pretty picture for the five awaiting their death. I watched in awe and slight horror as Nemesis crushed them with her shield and burned the dust. As Nemesis relinquished control back to Isabella, she started to fall towards the floor but was caught by Marcus.

Bella POV

I was falling as Nemesis returned control of my body to me and I fell into the arms of my Marcus. I heard Aro bark out orders to Felix to retrieve some bagged blood for me and I tried shakily to stand on my feet. Marcus allowed it but kept a tight hold in case I fell. Felix came with the blood and Marcus helped me to drink. Having Nemesis in control was disorienting and took mass amounts of energy from me. After a few minutes I was able to recover myself.

"I'm okay Marcus." I said to try and reassure him and my brothers.

_'My taking over your body won't be so taxing as time goes by my warrior. Major can help but we are out of time for now. You need to all leave the castle for the battle very soon. I will heal your injuries and prepare you for the battle. I will make an appearance if needed and you will be the victors of this war._' I heard a voice inside me say and I widened my eyes slightly. Marcus looked at me in concern.

"I'm alright Marcus, really. Just confused as to what the hell just happened but we can worry about that later. We need to leave now if we are to intercept the Romanians before they reach Volterra." I said. I stood of my own steam feeling much better and more refreshed. "Come on, we need to get going." I said and the others all looked with mixed reactions of me. Concern, fear, awe, were all there and many more. I rolled my eyes and looked up to Aro. "Brother, let's get the show on the road shall we?" I asked finally snapping him out of his trance.

"Alright Isabella." He said and then addressed the room. "We are to intercept them outside Volterra. We depart now." He said with finality and the brothers led the march surrounded by the guard and the rest followed. Cia and Dora were with me just behind them also covered by some of the guard.

_'Don't worry my warrior, your friends and family will be safe. Take out the leaders first and the rest will fall. Pass this to Aro as well. Marcus won't like it but you must fight in order to be victorious and I will guide you.'_ Nemesis told me in my head and I jumped a little in surprise. Jasper looked at me knowingly.

_'Why did you take over in the throne room? I could have handled it.' _I asked her and she chuckled kindly.

_'I knew you could but I had to make my appearance just before the battle. They wouldn't let you fight otherwise.'_ She said. I nodded and caught up with Aro who still looked concerned for me and I moved my shield so he could see. A small worried smile graced his lips but he nodded.

"Marcus, brother. I know you won't like this but she is the key and must fight." Aro whispered to Marcus and he sighed an unneeded and large breath of air.

"It still doesn't mean I have to like it." Marcus said like a scolded child and I held back the laugh that threatened. We reached the outskirts of Volterra and continued at a slightly slower pace.

_'Stop before the outcropping of trees to the left. They are prepared to ambush you there.'_ Nemesis said.

"Aro, we stop before the trees to the left. They are prepared to ambush us there." I whispered lowly to him and he nodded. We stopped short of the trees and waited for a brief minute until the three figures came into view, flanked by their minions.

"The feared Volturi." Stephan said laughing. "Well this is special, nothing I see worthy of fear though. We have the advantage here Aro. Surrender or die." He finished and I couldn't hold back the scoff that left my lips. They looked to me and I guess they thought I would cower under their gaze but they were wrong. I simply smiled.

"Isabella dear, come to me and I will keep you safe." Edwards said calmly. I had an idea but didn't know if it would work. I threw my shield over Aro and I and brushed my hand against his. He looked towards me in confusion.

_'Don't let Marcus do anything. I have a plan.'_ I thought in my head and his eyes widened he nodded subtly. I pulled the shield over myself and stretched it to encompass the brothers and sisters. I locked eyes with Marcus asking him to trust me and he nodded curtly.

"Sure Edward." I said and stepped forward and went towards him. Just as I got close to him I flipped my physical shield and encased Edward, Stefan and Vladimir and smiled.

"What is this?" Vladimir said angrily and I smiled wider.

"That my 'friends' is a physical shield that could crush you to dust." I said sneering at the word friend. I compartmentalized my shield holding the three separately. "So who wants to try it out first?" I asked and they widened their eyes in fear. I turned to Edward. "Ah Edward, you have been a pain in my ass since the day you and your family left Forks. You were not content with your own mate, so you try to pursue someone who you treated like dirt. Yes, you first." I said and tightened my shield on him until he was dust. I did the same with the other two and looked up to the masses of their army.

"Your leaders are dead. Should you pursue this foolish notion of attack, you shall join them." They didn't move and although I thought it was from shock, I smiled cruelly. I only saw one man move towards us and he was focused on Bree. "Very well then, the rest of you will perish like your so-called leaders. I threw my physical shield over the area preventing their escape and the Volturi moved on the masses. We fought hard but it didn't take long for their masses to diminish. I fought right along with the rest and maintained my shield over the area as well. We finally managed to rid ourselves of them and we cheered as the last enemy was thrown into the pyre. Once the cleanup was taken care of we turned to head home. Marcus broke formation and stayed close to me all the way home. Once we reached the castle, we went back to the throne room briefly.

"Isabella, you should go and rest dear sister. You used a great deal of energy tonight and a lot has happened today." Aro said and it was true that I felt a little drained. I had hunted earlier tonight but I felt like it didn't do anything to sate my thirst now.

"Felix," I called. He came to me where I was still cradled in Marcus' lap sitting in his throne. Aro had dismissed most of the others to do their own thing. Only the Cullens, the guard and the brothers remained with their wives. "Please have some of the bagged blood taken to our room please." I said and he nodded.

"Yes Mistress." He said and left to his task. I felt weak and I hated feeling weak.

"I'm fine brother. Let's get this business wrapped up first and I promise I will afterwards." I said and I knew they didn't like it but nodded slightly. I could see their concern but I really wanted this business finished. I closed my eyes briefly listening to the discussion of my family.

"Alright sister." Aro sighed then turned to the new vampire who clung to Bree. "Would you kindly introduce yourself?" Aro asked him and he stepped forward.

"Of course Master Aro. My name is Adam Michael Delaney. Stefan changed me over two years ago." He said. "I was a carpenter in my human years and was 19 at the time. I worked for my father and we were working on a home in a small village near Rome when I was bitten." Aro stepped forward and took his hand to see his thoughts. Aro smiled and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"What are your feelings for young Bree here? Be mindful that she has recently suffered from a broken mating bond." Aro warned and the man smiled turning to look at Bree.

"I haven't been able to see or think of anything else since I spotted her amongst your ranks. I know that she is my true mate and I would never hurt her in any way." He said and I could tell that he was telling us the truth and I smiled slightly.

"Bree, you have the choice along with your mate to return with the Cullen family or to remain here. I want to be sure that you are not pressured in any way to decide this now since we have several events in the next months to attend to but it is entirely up to you and your mate."

"Thank you Master Aro, but I will stay with my family. There will be a lot of memories at home but I will have to deal with them. I love the Cullens regardless of the actions of their son." She said and I smiled.

"It's okay Bree. They certainly have that effect on others don't they?" I said fondly and they all smiled. "I hope Carlisle that there is no ill will towards my actions against him tonight?" I asked and he offered a pained smile.

"Bella the only thing I hold ill will for is the actions of my former son. I fear he was turned too young and maybe the fever he had before turning affected his mental capability. I know that you did what must be done and I thank you for making it quick for him." He said and I nodded. I still loved this family dearly.

"Cara, you need to feed and rest. We can discuss the other things with you later but your eyes have begun to darken. Come on dear and we will get you feeling better." Marcus said and I stood but swayed slightly. Marcus stood and picked me up, carrying me to our room where Felix stood with a look of concern.

"Master, the blood for Mistress Isabella is ready in the goblet in the main sitting area." Felix informed.

"Thank you Felix, you may go." Marcus said.

"Master, is she alright if I may ask?" he said and I smiled weakly at his concern for me. We really had gotten close in my time here.

"She will be fine after some rest and blood. Thank you Felix for your concern." Marcus said.

"Might I tell the guard Master? They are all concerned for Mistress Isabella." He said.

"That's fine Felix. I will call if you are needed." Marcus said and entered our room. He went to the sitting area and grabbed the goblet of blood and held it to my lips. I drank it greedily and sighed in contentment once I was finished. Marcus carried me to the bed and we curled into one another. He got up moments later to prepare some clothing that was more comfortable. He stripped my clothes carefully from me and changed them just as carefully. He took the hairbrush from the vanity and brushed out my hair carefully as I relaxed more. If I still slept, I would definitely think this was a dream. He was careful with me but very attentive to what I needed and wanted.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 13

Aro POV

Marcus just left the throne room with Isabella. I was grateful beyond words for her presence here in Volterra. She had breathed life into my brother Marcus, life that had been dark and dormant since my dear sister Didyme was killed. She was a breath of fresh air to all of us here at the castle and we all had a special place in our dead hearts for her. She hadn't even been crowned but had already proven herself a fair and compassionate queen with just the right amount of ruthless vigor. Once Marcus had taken Bella out of the room, I could still see the concern in the eyes of all who were present. Even the vampire who had clung to young Bree seemed to show a fair amount of concern for the short amount of time he knew her.

Before the battle we were all concerned about her, especially since the revelation that she had, for lack of a better description, an alter ego similar to what Jasper experiences with himself and the major. She is still so observant in this life and misses nothing that could be of value. Jasper seemed frightened slightly by Nemesis coming to the forefront and taking over Bella.

"Jasper, what can you tell us about the events before we left the castle? You seem to be the one who has the most knowledge since you have something similar, correct?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes, with the Major, he comes out during battles and times of extreme emotion, specifically anger. Nemesis appeared with Bella because she wanted to be seen. I could feel panic and confusion in Bella as Nemesis was in control. Odds are she could hear and see everything clearly, but could do nothing to control her body while Nemesis had control. Judging by Bella's gifts I would say that they are partially a result from Nemesis as well." Jasper said and it did seem to make sense.

"I would like for all of you to remain here for a while longer if you will. Isabella does have a wedding to plan and a celebration to attend as we announce her as a ruling member of the Volturi." The Cullens all smiled widely at the offer. The seer looked like she was already in wedding planning mode.

"Of course we would love to." Carlisle stated.

"It would give me some time to explain the whole thing about Nemesis." Jasper mused aloud and nodded. It was true that she needed to talk to him about that. "She will be able to communicate with her and it can be quite disorienting and confusing at first. It would be like practically two beings sharing the same body, which in a sense I guess it is."

"I agree Jasper. You need to speak to her on this matter soon." I said and I did worry for my new sister and cared for her deeply. "No one is to bother Isabella or Marcus tonight and once she is feeling better, then you may see her. I don't want anything to add to her already stressed mind." I ordered and I saw them all nod slightly. "You all are dismissed to your quarters."

They all nodded and filed out of the throne room. I sat there for a little while with Cia sitting on my lap and Caius in the same position with Dora.

"I hope Bella will be alright." I heard Cia whisper from my lap and I smiled down at her and stroked soothing patterns over her back.

"I'm sure that she will be just fine love. She has just had a tough day and needs a little rest, but she is strong." I said soothingly. "She will survive this like she has everything else." Cia looked up and smiled.

"I guess you're right husband, but I still worry for our sister." Cia said.

"She will be fine Cia. Someone who can put me, Aro and the Romanians in their place can handle most anything." Caius said and I smiled. There were very few people that he showed any affection for. He loved Cia like a sister as well, along with Marcus and I as brothers. Bella was the only woman aside from Dora that could put him in his place and also cut down the oversized ego. He truly loved Bella like a little sister.

We stayed there for a short time longer and then left to spend time with our beautiful mates. I knew that most of the inhabitants of the castle had their thoughts centered on Isabella.

Bella POV

After many hours of resting comfortably with Marcus, I felt much better and decided that I was restless from being so inactive for so long. After some intimate moments with Marcus, we both showered and dressed for the day. We had spent a whole day in our room and I wanted to get out and see everyone. Marcus and I walked down the empty hall to where we knew that our brothers and sisters would be. I knew that they had taken the opportunity to spend time with their mates but would be waiting in the throne room at this hour. Felix was stationed outside the throne room and smiled at us, glad to see that I had recovered quickly. He opened the large doors for us and we strolled through like it was nothing. I almost laughed at the wide eyes of Aro and Caius as they sat with Cia and Dora on their laps.

"Happy to see us brother?" I said quirking an eyebrow at Aro who looked shocked but then smiled widely as he stood with Cia and Caius did the same. They all walked to the center of the room and smiled widely at us. Before I knew it I was wrapped in a hug tightly by Cia and Dora. I laughed a little as I stumbled slightly. Aro and Caius followed soon after and I smiled thinking that I would have never guessed when I met them, that they were so touchy feely with their emotions.

"Yes sister, we are overjoyed that you are feeling better. The guard members have been asking about you and really want to see you." Aro said and I smiled. I was about to say some more when I heard the doors open again and I was surprised to see the entire guard, the Cullens and the other clans that I had grown close to lately. I was surprised to see that Garret had come in closely clinging to one of the Denali sisters. When did that happen? They were all smiling widely at me. Aro clapped his hands and took his place at his throne along with Caius and Marcus. Aro looked at all of those in the room and stood in front of his seat, addressing the room. Cia, Dora and I stood by our mates right side as Aro spoke.

"Friends, we have been successful in defeating the Romanians and our secret is secure from the humans. You have all relieved yourselves of your duties here in Volterra and you may leave at any time you wish. However you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like and we have several events coming in the foreseeable future. Our dear Isabella has agreed to rule beside myself and my brothers, along with becoming joined in Marriage to our dear Marcus. Plans are already being made to celebrate these events and everyone is welcome to attend." Aro said and I was speechless. Sure I knew it would happen, but wasn't sure when.

"Aro we would be delighted to be present for these events. It would also give us all the opportunity to get to know our new queen, if she wishes of course." I heard Garret say and I smiled as he placed his arms around Kate.

"Of course that opportunity is open to all and I would be delighted." I said and smiled. Aro clapped his hands in his usual way and I bit back a comment and held in my laughter. Marcus must have known what I was doing and he also silently chuckled.

I spent the next several days before the wedding and Coronation getting to know all of the clans. Dividing my time where everyone had the opportunity to talk to me and I still spent some time with Marcus. Since I was not very fond of the fanfare, Aro had the wedding and coronation combined together and I was happily awaiting the day I could call Marcus my husband. We had the event the following week and it went without a problem whatsoever. Over the next few days, the covens that visited for the events went home and the last to leave were Peter and Charlotte, the Cullens, Denalis, and the Irish. Charles and Makenna had left a few days before and Liam, Sibohan, Alistair and Maggie were getting set to leave today. Knowing Alistair I was surprised that he had stayed this long. The brothers and sisters and I were getting prepared to see them off and I smiled at the group.

"Alistair, Liam. You must bring your mates back for a visit again soon. We will miss you." I said and they smiled as did the brothers.

"Of course your Majesty." Liam said and Alistair agreed with a nervous smile. He was still a little flighty, but not as he was when he came here. I hugged Maggie and Sibohan tightly before they departed and I sighed. I would miss having so many here at the castle.

"I will miss them." I said and Marcus purred, wrapping his arms around me. The Cullens are staying another day or so and the Denalis are leaving today as well. Irina still didn't like me much and I caught several cold glares aimed my way, but I didn't blame her family.

"Eleazar my friend, you must come and visit us again soon." Aro said happily and I resisted an eye roll. He was always one for the dramatic.

"Of course Aro. We wouldn't miss it." Eleazar said and I hugged Tanya and Kate. Irina refused and I wasn't about to push it. I also hugged Carmen and they left towards the car that would take them to the airport.

"Irina might be a problem." I said after they left.

"She wouldn't dare try anything against you again Cara." Marcus said and I smiled up at him.

"The Cullens are staying a little longer so that Jasper can help with the whole alter ego thing and we know you would like to spend some time with them. Also Peter and Charlotte are staying around for a while as well to assist." Aro informed and I was glad they would stay a little longer. I had grown close to Peter and Charlotte over the whole ordeal.

"I really will miss Peter and Char when they leave, but it will be nice to spend some time with them and the Cullens without so many others demanding our time." I said. "I think that I will go to the training room for a little while. Maybe Peter and Jazz can beat me this time." I said with a smile while they all laughed. I kissed Marcus and walked down towards Peter and Char's room. I knocked on the door and smiled as I heard Char tell me to come in. I walked in and Peter and Char were talking to Jazz and Alice.

"Hey guys, I was going down to the training room for a bit. Do you guys want to come with me?" I asked and Jazz smiled as well as Peter.

"Of course Your Majesty." Peter said smiling widely and I groaned. That was the only thing I hated about being crowned as Queen and Peter 'knew' I hated that. I rolled my eyes and punched his shoulder playfully and smiled as the others laughed.

"Well come on. Maybe the Major can show me a thing or two." I said smirking at them. We went to the training room and got down to business. After about an hour of training, Jasper called me to the center to spar and I smiled.

"Isabella, it is a pleasure." Jasper's voice was harder and held an authority I hadn't heard from him. This must be the Major.

"Hello Major." I said with a smile and he returned it and crouched, ready for a fight.

"Show me what ya got." Major said and I mirrored his crouch. He lunged first and I dodged at the last possible second, sending a hit of my own. It went like that for a little while until he finally lunged and I jumped up, turning my body and landed directly on his back. He rolled forward with his body, flipping me off him and pinned me by my throat. I kicked upwards into his chest and he broke his hold. I stood quickly as he lunged and caught my left side. He had me pinned again, pressing his knees into my thighs where I couldn't get out of his hold and poised his teeth at my throat.

"Impressive Isabella, no one has ever lasted that long in a sparring session with me. You are an amazing fighter, best I've seen in fact besides the Captain over there." The major said and I smiled.

"Thank you Major." I said and we both smiled before Jasper was back in control.

"The major is quite fond of you Bella." Jasper said with a soft smile. "He doesn't give compliments often."

"I can see that." I said and I heard Alice gasp a little and we both turned to look at her. Alice was in a vision and judging from her reaction, it was a bad one.

**What do you think the vision is about? Please R&R. Thanks.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Sorry this is later than usual guys but i hope its worth the wait. Enjoy.**

Chapter 14

Bella POV

"What is it Alice?" Jasper asked her as she came out of her vision. She looked over to Jasper.

"Maria." She said and Jasper, Peter and Charlotte all stiffened at the sound of the name. I knew that it was something related to their pasts. It must have been really bad because the Major was back again.

"Isabella, go and get the brothers and get them to the throne room." Jasper ordered. Yeah I knew that I had more authority than Jasper, but since this was the major, I wasn't about to call him on protocol. I nodded and went to the tower where I knew that the brothers were having a meeting amongst themselves. I walked into the study, not bothering to knock and saw the brothers sitting there. They had stopped whatever conversation they had going when they saw me approach them.

"Brothers, we are requested in the throne room immediately." I said and they rose a brow in question.

"Oh, sister. Who has requested us?" Caius said.

"The Major." I said and they widened their eyes before following me to the throne room. Aro had Felix, Demetri, and Heidi sent to look after the wives. We entered the throne room to find that Jasper, Alice, Peter, and Charlotte were already present.

"What is the reason for this meeting Major?" Aro asked.

"Alice received one of her visions and it involves Maria and her newborns, as well as Irina from the Denali. Irina is after vengeance for her supposed mate and joined forces with Maria to do so. Maria of course is after Peter, Charlotte and I." Major said and I honestly didn't know what to say.

"Excuse me for my ignorance here since I am young to this life, but who is Maria?" I asked.

"Remember cara how I explained that Jasper was the Major in the southern wars?" Marcus said and I nodded. "Maria is their creator. She has been forming newborn armies for centuries and we have destroyed them many times, but she always tends to elude us. She is Jasper's sire, or the one who changed him." Marcus explained.

"Okay, so what do we do?" I asked.

_'We fight my warrior.'_ I hear Nemesis say to me and I jumped in surprise.

_'Scare the hell outta me will ya Nem?'_ I told her sarcastically while she chuckled in my head at my reaction.

_'Sorry my warrior, but you will be the key to Maria's final defeat. You, the Major, Peter, and Charlotte must fight together or the south will be in ruin and destruction due to Maria's army. Use the guard and your allies to assist, but you four absolutely must fight.' _Nemesis said and I was for once speechless.

"What did she say?" Major asked me, apparently knowing that I was having one of my silent conversations with Nemesis.

"Nemesis said that you, Peter, Charlotte and I must fight together. We are to use allies and the guard to assist but we four must fight together. Apparently I am the key to Maria's final defeat. If we don't fight, the south will be in ruin." I said and they looked shocked at what I had just relayed to them. The Major straightened his stance and smirked.

"Well then darlin' we best not keep Maria waiting long." The Major said and I smiled a little.

"Cara you cannot seriously think I would let you leave to fight without us would you?" Marcus said and I smiled a little.

"I never said that love, but I would have to fight regardless of your choice or that of our brothers." I said and honestly it was true. I didn't want to leave him to fight, but if he wanted to stay here, I would have no choice but to leave to fight. He sighed and wrapped me in his arms.

"I guess that we should prepare the guard and call on our allies once again then. I won't let you face this without me and I think that our brothers would agree." Marcus said and I smiled.

"You are correct brother. We cannot be idle while our sister and queen goes into battle now can we?" Caius said and I smiled. I turned to the guard members in the room.

"Jane, Alec, go and retrieve the rest of the Cullens and bring them here. Send word for Felix and the others to accompany the wives here as well and then Alec, go and retrieve Ange." I said and the nodded before vanishing out the doors to their tasks. I turned to the brothers. "What about Cia and Dora? This will be much more of a fight than with the Romanians. They shouldn't be present so Maria cannot target them." I asked.

"Well we cannot leave them here at the castle. Most of the guard will be with us and we need the fighters." Aro said and I could see that he was conflicted.

_'Jacob. Talk to Jacob and the pack.' _Nemesis said and I widened my eyes.

_'Are you crazy? Aro and Caius will never agree to that and besides we are kind of their enemy._' I told her.

_'The Cullens have a treaty with them and if you were to explain they could help in eliminating a newborn army, they would agree.' _She said and I was still too shocked to believe what she had just said to me. '_Have Angela, Cia and Dora stay at the Cullen home in Forks with the Denali clan and have the wolves guard nearby. The Denali won't want to witness the death of Irina so they need to be there rather than in battle.'_

While I was having my inner rant with Nemesis, the Cullens, Cia, Dora, and Angela had arrived and everyone looked to me strangely.

"Well, what does Nemesis say to this whole thing?" Aro inquired.

"You and Caius aren't going to like it at all but Cia and Dora have to be out of the fight." I said and paused for a minute so I could word this correctly without causing a riot with the brothers. "Cia and Dora, along with Angela, need to go to the Cullen house in Forks. The Denali's should come there and assist guarding them… along with the shifters from La Push." I said and the brothers erupted into protests.

"Insane. I won't stand for it." Caius raged.

"There is no way those dogs are to be near Cia." Aro growled. Back and forth it went until I couldn't take any more.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed and I saw those in the room flinch. You could hear a pin drop now and I was grateful. Nemesis seemed to surface and take over.

"Aro and Caius will just have to deal with this. Carlisle, call the Denali and have them meet us at your place in Forks. I will talk with the wolves along with Carlisle since he has the treaty with them. Cia, Dora and Angela will ALL be staying there during the battle. We need at least one of the guard there as well but no more than that. Aro you will call the rest of our allies and we will head south as soon as Angela and the wives are situated and safe." Nemesis stated in order and I looked to see the Major smirk.

"Isabella, we can't do that." Aro said and I smirked.

"First of all, why not and second, you can and you will. Third, this isn't Isabella talking." Nemesis said and I laughed internally as their eyes widened.

"Nemesis is correct. You cannot possibly protect the wives against the newborn army, Maria and Irina. They will be targeted first so that you would be useless to fight them. In order to succeed in this, they must be protected and away from the fight." Major added. Aro and Caius looked so torn and I knew that this was a hard plan to sell for them but it was the only plausible plan we had.

"Alright, Carlisle call the Denali and inform them of the situation and have them meet us at your home in Forks. I will start to contact the allies again and make preparations for our departure. Cia, Dora, go and pack the necessities and be ready to depart. Felix and Demetri, you two will collect the guard and bring them to the throne room so that they can be briefed on the situation at hand." Aro said and Caius growled.

"Aro you cannot be seriously considering this?" Caius said and I groaned.

"Caius, what choice do we have here? Would you go into battle with Dora by your side to be used as your weakness?" Nemesis said and he would have paled if he were human.

"Nemesis is right brother. We cannot have them present for this battle. Too much is at stake here." Aro said and I smiled as the discussion was won and Nemesis returned control to me. She left in a jolt and I felt myself starting to sway a little. Not nearly as draining as the last time, but draining none the less. Marcus caught me on one side and the Major caught my other side, both holding me steady until I regained myself.

"It may take several days to get word to the seeing as some might still be traveling from the departure from the castle. If you recall, some have only left today." I mentioned and a thought hit me. "How would Irina be in the south with Maria already? She just left with her family today." I mused and they widened their eyes a little. Alice answered this for us.

"It hasn't taken place yet, but the decision was made by Irina for revenge. Maria has always wanted these three back so they have only recently come to an arrangement. Carlisle will have to be discreet when he contacts them, especially if Irina is there." Alice said and although I really didn't understand how accurate her visions were sometimes, we moved on to planning and also getting the guard packed and ready for travel.

Going back to Forks was somewhat surreal. I didn't have much time here after the destruction of Victoria's newborns but I didn't miss anything new since nothing ever changes in this Podunk down. We arrived at the Cullen house and with so many of us, it was good that the house was huge. It was slightly cramped but we would survive it. Just before nightfall, Carlisle and I decided it was time to see Sam and Jake. We walked to the treaty lines where we met the two large wolves. They disappeared into the trees and returned in their human form to speak to us.

"Cullen, what is it that has caused you to arrange our meeting?" Sam said and I mentally rolled my eyes. Sam was always one to get down to business quickly.

"Actually Sam, Bella ranks a little higher than I do at the moment. She requested that I arrange this meeting." Carlisle said and I stepped towards the line beside him.

"Sam, Jake." I greeted. "There seems to be some trouble down south and the Volturi will have to go and take care of it. We are to destroy a newborn army, much larger than the one encountered here, which could mean the destruction of the southern states as we know it. I asked for this meeting because there are several that we cannot take with us for their safety and we need all the fighters we can get. Yes, they are human drinkers, but will be provided with supplies of donated blood for the duration of their stay here." I said and Sam interrupted.

"So what does this have to do with us besides you bringing human drinkers to the people of Forks?" Sam sneered angrily.

"Because we request protection for our members that are left behind. You have to understand that the armies in the south have to be eliminated once and for all and we CANNOT afford to fail, therefore, we have to have certain members here, far away from the fight. You understand that vampire mating is very similar to imprinting in your kind?" I asked and they nodded rather reluctantly. "If we take them with us into battle, that is something that the newborns will use against us and we will fail. We would like for them to remain here and stay as protected as possible. These women are those I have grown to consider my sisters and I need to be sure they are safe. You wouldn't even have to go towards the house, but just make sure that no other vampires get past to the house. Each will be wearing a black cloak so that they can be identified. Some might hunt for animals like the Cullens, but the others won't be outside unless it is necessary."

"Again, why does this concern us? So a few of your kind get killed, what does the battle down south have to do with us and the people of Forks?" Sam said angrily and I groaned internally at his stupidity.

"Let me clear this up and use very small words so it will sink into your thick foolish skull. If we do not fight the armies in the south, or if we fail to defeat them, the southern states as we know them will cease to exist. The armies there consist of newborns and they will feed on the humans in the south at will. Where do you suppose they will go when there are no humans left in the south?" I asked and I saw the look of realization on their faces. "If there are no food sources in the south, there is nowhere to head but north. Then they will be on your doorsteps in numbers that you couldn't possibly fend off or destroy." I finished and they sighed in defeat.

"What do you suggest?" Sam asked in resignation.

"All that you and the pack are required to do is what you do now. Keep other vampires out of the area. All that is required is that you expand your patrol perimeters to include the Cullen house and the area around Forks. We have three of the Volturi women there plus one guard and the Denali coven which consists of Eleazar, Carmen, Tanya, Kate and Garret." I said. "Again the four of the Volturi will be provided what they need and will not be venturing out. The others follow the same diet as Carlisle and his family."

"And why don't you follow that lifestyle then?" Jake asked.

"I don't kill innocents Jake. I hunt for those who are criminals in the human society such as rapists and murderers. I wasn't as selective at the start, but I provide a service in my own way. I know that you don't approve of our lifestyle we have chosen but that is our burden and no one else's." I said confidently.

"No I really don't like it, but I'll just have to deal I guess." Jake said. "I just want to know that you are happy with your life Bells, so as long as you aren't killing innocents left and right, I can deal." He finished and I smiled. Jake was taking this much better than I thought possible.

"Alright, we will increase our patrols and expand them to include the Cullen house." Sam said and then paused for a minute. "Wait, where is Edward?" He asked.

"He is no longer in existence." I said and their eyes widened. "He refused to acknowledge his mate because he had a twisted fantasy that I was his mate. He defected and ran off to join the Romanians in some fool attempt to get me away from my mate." I said. "He ended his existence in disgrace." I finished and they widened their eyes impossibly farther. I wasn't about to give them the full details of the whole thing, since it would take some time to try and explain the dynamics of it. All they needed to know was that he isn't around anymore due to his own choices.

After a few more minutes of instruction on patrols and recognizing each scent of those who were staying here, Carlisle and I went back to the house and once the ladies were situated with the Denali and our guard member, we began to make our way south towards Texas where Jasper said the army would be. Thankfully by the time that Carlisle had contacted Eleazar, Irina had already begun to head South. It didn't take long for us to travel considering our numbers and we landed at the airstrip just outside of Houston. We divided into groups and decided that it was wise to feed before we made our move. In my group were Peter, Charlotte, Aro, Caius and Marcus. The guard members didn't accompany us because I was more than capable of protecting us with my shield and if the group were any larger it would attract attention. The brothers hadn't done much hunting because they had their meals delivered so this should be fun.

We came to an area where I knew there would be less innocent prey. We spotted a gang on the corner of the street selling drugs and ogling the young women that walked the streets. It disgusted me how some of the humans were so vile you didn't have to be a mind reader to know what sick types of things were going on in their heads. Marcus, Caius and Aro moved to go towards them but I pulled them back. They looked at me like I was nuts but I just smiled.

"I think this is one of those things that requires a woman's touch… and perhaps a little acting." I said and I heard Peter and Charlotte snicker a little while the brothers looked confused. I rolled my eyes at them. "Watch and you might learn something boys." I said with a smirk and walked from the shadows towards the group. Sure enough I saw the group settle their eyes on me and I saw the lust there. I stopped as if I was terrified and looked down shyly, crossing across the street to distance myself as if I was fearful of them. The group moved away from their corner and towards me. I froze in mock fear and turned around swiftly towards the direction I had come from.

"Come on pretty lil' miss. We just wanna talk to ya." One of the guys said and I acted scared and picked up the pace slightly. I could hear them catching up to me and I turned a little to see them break into a run. I did the same and ran at a human pace to where the others were waiting. The rest of my hunting party stayed out of sight as I led them into the ally. One of the men grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, pressing my back into the wall. I pretended to be fearful and cringed away from the one that held my shoulders.

"Such a little tease we got here boys. Should we show 'er what teasin' gets 'er in this neighborhood?" one asked and the rest laughed. I smiled as the rest of the hunting party came in behind the group, cutting off any escape and I took the lead.

"Fine, I won't play with my food anymore." I said and before the man in front of me could comment, I attached myself to his neck. Each of the others took one and within minutes, we were finished. We disposed of the bodies and I smiled at the awed look on the brothers faces. "What?" I asked looking at my family. Marcus was the first to break out of his stupor and wrapped me in his arms.

"Cara, that was amazing. I never knew you could act like that." Marcus said and I smiled. That was nothing, if they only knew.

"Sister, I must say that seeing you hunt like that was actually fun." Aro said happily and I rolled my eyes a little at him.

"I agree. I haven't had this much fun hunting in a very long time. It was quite interesting to see you act so timid and fearful." Caius said and I smiled.

"Well if we are done commenting on my acting skills, can we just go and meet up with the rest of the crew." I said and they nodded while Peter and Charlotte snickered. We took off heading back to where we were to meet up with the others. Thankfully Peter had a ranch down the road that we were using as our base of operations at the moment.

When we got back to the ranch, the sun was just starting to make an appearance and the other groups had returned. The others relaxed while the brothers, Peter, Charlotte Jasper and I started to plan out our details of attack. Alice had another vision of the fight and so we would be attacking at sundown. Sure I was stressing about the fight, but I knew that with the manpower we had and the Major, Pete and Char, we would be alright. Besides that, we did have Nemesis on our side.

**Please remember to R&R. Thanks!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**This is it guys. The final chapter in this story so i hope that you guys enjoy.**

Chapter 15

Bella POV

Sundown was approaching fast and we prepared for the battle that was to come. We grouped up so that everyone had someone close by during the fight to watch their backs. Those that had mates were of course paired with their significant other and most of the groupings were simply by family or coven. However since there were so many guard members, we made sure that they were paired evenly based on their fighting skills and their gifts. We prepared and started towards the area where the fight would take place, about halfway between Maria's camp and the ranch house.

We set up a formation as we walked into the field. Aro was center of the brothers, Caius on the right and Marcus on the left. I took my stance beside Marcus and Jasper beside me. Peter and Charlotte were on the right next to Caius. The guard stayed close behind us and the others followed closely behind them. We came to a stop in the clearing as a woman I assumed to be Maria stepped into the field. My thoughts were confirmed when Jasper, Peter and Char growled low in their chest. Beside her was the traitor Irina.

"Maria, you seem surprised to see us. Didn't the traitor beside you tell you that the person she was after was mated to a Volturi king?" I sneered at her surprised expression. She covered her shock quickly and smiled cruelly. I immediately put up my mental shield around our fighters to protect against attack by her gifted newborns I knew were just inside the tree line.

"It will not matter anyway since after today, the Volturi rule will end and they will cease to exist." Maria said feigning confidence but I detected the fear in her voice so I knew Jasper had as well.

"Surrender now Maria." Aro ordered. "This is the last warning that you will receive."

"I think not." Maria smiled. "It's time for a new ruler."

"Well don't contact your interior decorator just yet Maria." I smirked at her. "I'll be ash before I'd bow to the likes of you." Jasper smiled beside me trying to hold back a snicker at my comment while Maria growled in frustration. I could feel pings on the mental shield and I knew that she was trying to attack us with some of her gifted newborns.

"Why isn't it working Maria?" I heard Maria Whisper and I smiled wider.

"You shouldn't go into battle without all of your armor in place Maria." I said smiling. I threw out my physical shield, keeping it invisible to the others and Maria. Second later I felt pings on the physical shield and saw that one of the newborns had tried to hurl boulders towards us and I smiled as the disintegrated.

Jasper looked to me and nodded. In a matter of seconds I lowered the physical shield as Maria gave her signal for her army to attack. Once the newborns had entered the clearing, I threw the physical shield over the entire area, making it impossible for anyone to escape and we attacked. Marcus, Peter and Char stayed close during the fight so that I could concentrate on keeping the shield up and fight the newborns that attacked me head on. They watched my back. I kept the mental shield up but it still allowed our fighters to use any gifts that they had. The shields were second nature now and I was able to keep them up now with little concentration.

Marcus, Peter and Char were fighting newborns of their own and I had just finished the one I was on when I was blindsided by one of the larger males. I kept my shields up but it managed to knock me off my feet and I felt the crack in my skin from the brute force of the hit. I rolled to a stop and felt myself being picked up and the male pulled at my arm, biting at my shoulder. I cried out as his teeth cut through my shoulder and I kneed him, forcing him to let go of me. I jumped up and ripped off his head while he was stunned and threw his head in the nearby fire. I spotted Irina and Maria watching the fight and they turned to leave as they saw me and I smiled as they let out a frustrated growl because they were trapped.

"Newborns, Kill that female mated to Marcus and we shall be free from the Volturi." Maria screeched and I felt Nemesis surface. I could feel my eyes turning a coal black and I sneered evilly. I plowed through any of the newborns that came my way and I chanced a look to Marcus. There were three newborns on him, trying to rip off his arms and I felt my heart clench. In a flash, I pulled the three newborns from him, tossing the heads into the fire as I went and turned back to Marcus. He smiled at me and I could tell he knew that Nemesis was at the surface. I quickly kissed him and turned back to the fight. I found Jasper taking on several newborns at once and Peter and Char were in much the same position.

I turned full reign over to Nemesis and allowed myself to fade completely from the fight, still keeping the shield intact around the area.

Nemesis POV

Finally I am free. Isabella is an extraordinary fighter in her own right and I gave her most of my skills as her gift, but I was free to destroy the newborns without the limitations of Isabella. I sneered as I caught sight of the two women responsible for us nearly losing our mate moments ago and the fight we were involved in right now. I sauntered through the field, taking off newborns' heads as I went and I relished in the fear that I saw in the women.

"You are lucky Irina. I will make it quick so that you can join your supposed mate, but Maria here will have to answer to the Major and the Captain." I said and it was with great joy that I watched the look of foreboding on their faces. I took her throat in one hand and sent a punch to her head with such force that her head flew across the ground. I dropped the headless body as I felt a bite in my left arm and hissed in pain and annoyance. I felt the rip of my arm leaving my body and I hissed. Maria had taken the opportunity to use Irina's demise to her benefit, or so she thought. I grabbed Maria and threw her towards the ground face first. I pinned her with my knees and ripped off her arms one after the other.

I stood as I looked up to see the brothers walking towards us being followed by the Major, Captain and the Lieutenant. They hadn't noticed that we had lost an arm yet since my body was blocking their view but as Marcus got closer I saw the concern in his eyes. Since the newborns were gone now and Irina was dead, Maria was the only loose end but I relinquished control back to Isabella as the Major approached. I knew he would want retribution for her part in his past.

Bella POV

As Nemesis left control to me again, I felt nothing but pain. I looked down and noticed that my left arm was taken from my body. I turned to see that Marcus' eyes widened at my appearance and he rushed towards me.

"Oh cara." He said and I could see the sadness and pain in his eyes. He looked around and found my arm several feet away. I felt like hell as he helped to reattach my arm.

"It hurts Marcus." I said with venom in my eyes. He smiled sadly at me and growled as he traced the other bites I had received during the battle. We were in our own little world as we let the others deal with Maria and the cleanup. The guard members were piling newborn body parts into the pyre while the other groups and covens assisted. Some of them were helping with wounds similar to mine.

"I know Isabella. It will hurt until it has healed properly." He sighed sadly. "I had hoped you wouldn't have to experience this."

"I- I was in the background. Nemesis was out and dealing with Irina. Maria took the distraction and bit my arm and ripped it off before I knew it." I curled into his chest as he held me tighter. I nearly jumped out of my skin as a hand came down on my right shoulder. I looked up to see Jasper taking of Maria's head and lighting the blaze. Before me, Caius and Aro stood looking at me in concern.

"Isabella dear are you alright?" Aro asked. I sent them a pained smile.

"I will be once my arm fuses back completely." I said and I noticed that some of the pain had receded. I looked over to see Jasper eyeing me in concern and I saw the pain in his eyes. I sent him a grateful look for taking some of pain from me and he smiled a little.

Several minutes later, we regrouped and made our way back to the ranch. We talked very little about the fight and opted that we would wait until morning to do so since we would have plenty of time. Marcus carried me back to the ranch much to my protests. Finally I gave up seeing that he was worried as my mate for my personal health and he took me straight towards the first available bedroom. We didn't need sleep but rest was something that we had often enjoyed. Mostly it consisted of lying in bed and being near one another. We didn't have to say anything to one another. We stayed like that for several hours until there was a knock at the door. Caius and Aro entered and handed over a Styrofoam container filled with several bags of blood for Marcus and I.

I was grateful once we finally returned to Forks to retrieve our family members and I was a little sad to know that the Cullens along with Peter and Jasper would not be coming back to Volterra with us. Aro must have seen this in my expression though and opted to Marcus and I to stay for several days longer. Caius and Aro returned to Volterra with most of the guard and their mates while Marcus and I remained. Carlisle and Esme had given us use of the small cabin that they had on the property. Since we were staying, Charlotte and Peter opted to stay for a few days here as well. I had thought that the pair would have stayed in Texas but when I asked Peter about it, he just smiled saying that I had grown on them.

For the first time in a very long time, it was finally quiet and I realized just how much I had missed this family. I sat down by the small stream that was at the back of the Cullen property just inside the forest and sighed in contentment. Marcus was spending some time conversing with Carlisle and I just sat enjoying the sense of normalcy. Well as normal as my life or unlife could ever be. I sat in the earthly silence, listening to the comforting sounds of my surrounding for some time. I soon felt a presence approaching me and I knew who was coming.

"Hey little bit, whatcha doing out here so long?" He said and sat down beside me on the bank of the small stream. I didn't have to turn towards him to know that there was concern there in his features.

"Enjoying the silence before being thrust into the real world once again." Was my reply and he chuckled.

"I know that this has all been difficult for ya little bit but you are a fighter… in more ways than one." Peter said and it was my turn to chuckle silently. "What's on your mind?" he asked and I finally turned to him.

"Nothing and everything." I said and sighed an unneeded breath. "I don't know that I am strong enough to say goodbye to all of you, even for a little while. I miss my father and my mother of course, but the Cullens and you and Char have been more of a family to me through all of this. The Volturi has also been there so much and I… I guess that no matter what happens, someone that I love will be left behind." I said. Peter smiled sadly and wrapped me in a tight hug.

"Listen little bit, you are a queen before all of us, even before you were officially announced. We all love you and we know where your heart lies. Everyone understands that the Volturi is your home now and we won't hold it against you when you go. We all will miss you for sure, but that just gives us more excuse to visit more often." He said and I smiled as he grinned at the last part.

"Besides Bells, you can't get rid of us that easily." I turned to see that it was Emmet that had spoken and he had a huge grin on his face. All of the Cullens, Charlotte, along with Marcus and the guard members that had stayed looked to me with bright smiles. I stood and smiled before jumping into Emmet's open arms and hugged him tightly. I kissed his cheek and smiled as he put be back on solid ground.

"Bella we love you as our daughter and a sibling to the others. We all know that you being mated to Marcus would take you from here, but it will not take you from our family. You always have a place in our hearts and our home." Carlisle said and I smiled. I hugged each of them and kissed them on the cheek. I saved Jasper for last and looked into his eyes.

"Jasper, even when I didn't know much about you, you always made sure that I knew that I was worth it. You will have a special spot in my heart, and I am proud to know that you are in every way of this life, my brother." I said and I wasn't expecting it but there was a shift in the air and the next thing I knew, I was being twirled around in a tight hug. I laughed loudly as I was placed back on the ground. I looked up to see venom in Jasper's eyes.

"Thank you Bella." He said and smiled. "We will miss you dearly when you go home, but remember that we all love you and will be there whatever and whenever you need us." He said and I smiled widely.

"We will also be there Bella." Peter said as he hugged Char tightly to him. I saw movement behind the Cullens and was surprised when Bree stepped out with her Mate Adam.

"Bella we don't know you very well, but we do see why our family holds you so highly. I thank you for taking care of Angela and not sticking with the traditional way of killing all of the newborns Victoria had. Not only did you save Angela, but me as well as Adam. I hope that one day, you can see us in the same light as the rest of the family." Bree said and I smiled at her and her mate. I walked towards them and hugged Bree tightly.

"Bree, you and Adam are already a part of my family and although we haven't been able to know one another for long, I welcome the opportunity. I already see you both as family." I said to her and she smiled with venom in her eyes.

"Thank you Bella. You have no idea how much that means to us." Bree said.

We spent the rest of the day talking and laughing about things that we had done in our pasts. I laughed along with them at my human clumsiness and rolled my eyes at some of the more absurd things the family mentioned. Soon though, we prepared to head home. We had been here a week longer than the others had and it was finally time to return home.

The flight was long and boring as usual but it was bearable with Marcus clinging close to my side. Demetri and Jane met us at the airstrip and we rode quickly back to the castle. I wanted to just run to our room and hide for the two weeks that I had promised Marcus, but I did miss seeing the other half of my family. I almost laughed out loud at the stunned faces of Aro and Caius as we entered the throne room. Cia and Dora were also present and I did laugh as they rushed to hug me. Aro and Caius followed after and smiled at me.

"Isabella, Marcus, it is good to have you both back home safely." Aro said and he hugged me tightly.

"I agree brother, it has been much too quiet here without Isabella." Caius said and I laughed.

"Why is that brother? I am sure that you and Dora have found ways to keep entertained in my absence." I said and waggled my eyebrows suggestively while he seemed shocked at my words. He recovered quickly and smiled.

"Yes well, there is of course never a dull moment with you as our sister. Besides we had to find some ways to entertain ourselves." Caius said and I laughed.

"Well speaking of entertaining oneself, Marcus and I are headed to our room and we aren't coming out for at least a week, preferably two." I said and I didn't give them room to argue as I dragged a chuckling Marcus back to our room where we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company.

I wasn't sure what this life would have in store for me in the future, but I intended to make the most of the here and now. I had felt out of place in my human existence, but here in my immortality, although full of excitement and distraction, I finally felt as I belonged. So long as I was wrapped in the arms of Marcus, I felt invincible. I could handle anything so long as I had him by my side. I had all of the things that I had ever wanted in my human life. I had a family that loved and cared for me, friends that would do anything for me and others, and although I had some of that as a human, as an immortal I was finally complete.

**Hope you like it guys, Enjoy. Please R&R.**


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